Canada's Charming East Coast Town On Prince Edward Island Has River Views, Trails, And Tasty Eats

Prince Edward Island can feel like a daydream, with its gentle hills, abundant farmland, and 680 miles of seashore. The scenery is beautiful, drawing nearly 2 million visitors each year. It's also the smallest province in Canada, a modest isle surrounded by the Atlantic, but close enough to the mainland that you can drive there. PEI is well known for its scenic towns and villages, and one little community is worth a drop-in, whether you want to eat well, admire the scenery, or break in those hiking boots: Montague.

With a permanent population of only 90 or so, Montague is a darling constellation of houses in Kings County, the island's easternmost municipality. The town began as a handful of farms in the early 1800s, and it remains a very intimate place. It's a fraction of the size of well-known Charlottetown, the largest city on the island, an ideal size for vacationers in search of quiet authenticity.

Montague is close to the island's coast, but it doesn't quite lie on the Northumberland Strait. Instead, the town straddles the Montague River, which is one of a trio that makes up the larger town of Three Rivers. A pair of grassy parks overlook the river from either bank, and a bridge connects the two halves of town. Just above the water is the Garden of the Gulf Museum, a stately brick building from 1888 that used to serve as the village's post office and customs house. Here you can learn about the town, thanks to its impressive collection of 5,000 artifacts, and gaze from its restored third floor onto the river below.

Montague is a walkable little town, and like most of the island in the warmer months, it's a pleasant place to breeze through on a bicycle. Montague also offers easy access to the Confederation Trail, the network of paths that spans nearly 280 miles and connects most of the island's major towns. One of its trailheads is located right next to the Montague Waterfront Marina, and you could theoretically start a cycling or walking trek across all of Prince Edward Island from this point. A more manageable loop is the Montague Trail, a rustic track that wiggles through local woods for about 1.5 miles. The way is short and beautiful, but do prepare for some terrain; you'll climb a not insignificant 121 feet.

Food lovers in PEI will be delighted by the variety of cuisine they'll find. Montague has a number of places to eat, but two of the most appetizing are breweries. Copper Bottom Brewing was founded by local couple Ashley Condon and Ken Spears and is located near the water. The taproom is known not only for its beers, but also for its hard seltzers. Pair your Kölsch or IPA with fish tacos or a bacon and cheese smashburger, then catch some live music. A few blocks away stands Bogside Brewing, which has three locations on PEI. Come for the diverse beers and vodka sodas, but stay for the barbecued pulled-pork sandwiches, the lobster rolls, and the wood-fired pizzas. 

For most visitors, Prince Edward Island is a destination for road trippers. There is a small airport in the storybook town of Charlottetown. While you could rent a car and drive the 45 minutes over to Montague, flights here are limited and there are no direct connections to U.S. airports. For many travelers, it'll be more fun to drive across New Brunswick and cross the 8-mile-long Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island. From there, it should take you around 90 minutes to pull into Montague. 

Despite its small size, Montague does have a few inns if you decide to linger in town for awhile. The most prominent is The Riverhouse Inn, a large complex of red clapboard walls and white-trimmed windows. Riverhouse has simple rooms and (true to its name) views of the river. The hotel itself is pleasant and affordable, but if you want some privacy (or are coming with a large group), you might prefer to rent out one of the Riverhouse's stand-alone cottages. For a longer stay, you can rent a cozy room at Dewars Montague Bed & Breakfast for up to a week in the summer. The vintage decor and verdant gardens outside may very well make you feel like Anne of Green Gables. The town is a good distance from PEI's denser population centers, so day-trippers should budget time to double-back to Charlottetown or Summerside, Canada's endlessly charming "City by the Sea."