Parking
Use the Parks Canada trailhead listed at 8780 Route 6, Cavendish. The trail listing does not specify parking capacity or fees.
Overview
About Cavendish Beach Trail
Why go
- Easy, mostly flat asphalt-and-packed-gravel surface
- Direct link from Route 6 to the beach facility and dune network
- Suitable for most bikes
Heads up
- A one-way segment, so a simple visit requires returning the same way
- One short steep section
- Trail and facilities are not maintained in the off-season
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Prince Edward Island map
Full mapElevation4–26 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
3 active Prince Edward Island alerts
- ClosureOceanview cliff area closed beyond signs and fencingStay out of all unmown areas beyond the signs or fencing at Oceanview (46.49951N 63.38272W), including the rocks and cliff edges.Official details
- ClosureHomestead trails closed because bridges are outDo not use Homestead Long Loop or Homestead Trail Short loop: both trails are closed because bridges are out. - Respect all posted warnings, closures, notices and signs while using other park trails.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Prince Edward Island Tour Guide
Your drive to Cavendish Beach Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Prince Edward Island National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Cavendish Grove0:00 / 0:30
“You're coming up on Cavendish Grove, a picnic area named for its stand of sugar maples, a rarity on the island.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Prince Edward Island Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Maples Behind the Beach
- Green Gables Heritage Place
- Oceanview Lookoff
- Cavendish Campground and Homestead Trails
- 29 audio storiesacross Prince Edward Island’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Bald Eagle, Osprey, Great Blue Heron, and 12 more
- Works offlinemaps, 15 trails, 25 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Cavendish Beach Trail
A short route to the beachCavendish Beach Trail is an easy, 0.
Cavendish Beach Trail is an easy, 0.7-mile one-way path from the 8780 Route 6 trailhead to the Cavendish Beach Facility. Walk it out and back for about 1.4 miles; allow roughly 45 minutes before adding time at the beach. The trail is also a useful link into Cavendish Dunelands, so it works as part of a longer park outing rather than only as a return walk.
What the walk is likeThe first section passes through a sugar maple stand before the route opens toward the beach.
The first section passes through a sugar maple stand before the route opens toward the beach. Underfoot, expect asphalt and packed gravel, mostly flat with gently rolling sections and one short steep pitch. It is rated Easy and is suitable for most bikes; hybrid or mountain bikes are the better choice.
Where it finishesThe payoff is the Cavendish Beach Facility and the dune-and-ocean landscape beyond it.
The payoff is the Cavendish Beach Facility and the dune-and-ocean landscape beyond it. If you continue into the connected Dunelands trails, you are starting a different route; the distance above is only this named 1.1 km segment. The boardwalks and pale dunes at the beach end are the place to pause for the view.
Make it workStart at the listed 8780 Route 6 access and return the same way unless you have planned a…
Start at the listed 8780 Route 6 access and return the same way unless you have planned a longer connection. Dogs may use the trail on leash, but they are not allowed on the beach from April 1 to October 15. Trails and facilities are not maintained between Thanksgiving and Victoria Day, even though visitors may still use the trails.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Prince Edward Island
100 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
95 sightingsOspreyMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
67 sightingsGreat Blue HeronMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
104 sightingsRed FoxMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
97 sightingsSnowshoe HareMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
13 sightingsMuskratMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Prince Edward Island. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
