TRAIL DETAILS

Confederation Trail - Iona to Murray Harbour

Touring Region — Points East Coastal Drive
Trail Location — Queens/Kings County

Trail Quick Facts
Difficulty Rating: 1.5 
Length: 35.0 km
Structure: Point-to-Point
Marked:
Island Trails Approved:
Environment: Rural
Wilderness
Surface Type: Crushed Aggregate
The Confederation Trail is Prince Edward Island's portion of the Trans Canada Trail. It is a rail trail constructed on the bed of the former Prince Edward Island Railway which opened in 1875 and closed in 1989.  Islanders were quick to notice a unique opportunity and the idea of a tip-to-tip shared-use walking and cycling trail was born and the final link is now in place.  The trail covers almost all of the former rail routes, including the "Tip-to-Tip" route from Tignish to Elmira (273 km).  Branch trails extend the trail to over 350km including Borden-Carleton (18 km); the Charlottetown spur (8 km); the Georgetown branch (39 km); the Montague spur (10 km); the Souris spur (9 km); and Iona to Murray Harbour (36 km).  The entire trail is owned and managed by the province of PEI as a part of the Provincial Parks system.

Approximate Time to Complete —  9 hours
Times are estimated assuming that the average person travels 4km/hr.
Time should be added for significant elevation gain/loss.
Associated Trails or Sections
Information & History
Branch trails are built on the original branch lines of the PEI Railway. Some of them like branches to Charlottetown (8 km), Georgetown (39 km) and Souris (9 km) were a part of the line that first opened in May 1875. Other branches came later, including Emerald to Port Borden in 1884, Charlottetown to Murray Harbour in 1905, Cardigan to Montague 1906, and Harmony Junction to Elmira in 1912. Almost all of them have been developed into first-quality trails that offer the peace of the countryside to the photographer, the painter and the nature-lover.

(Note: 29 km. of the rail bed was developed from Iona to Murray River in late 2004 joining the short section built previously from Murray River to Murray Harbour. Another 4 km. of new trail connects the rail bed to the Visitor Centre in Wood Islands. A railway station, built on the model of the original one at Wood Islands was built at the Plough the Waves site during that winter.) Further sections of this branch are expected to be developed to connect Iona to Charlottetown and to Mount Stewart.)

Km 20 - Iona. Historically the rural community of Montague Cross was settled by Irish immigrants in the 1830s. The name was changed to Iona in 1901. The railway branch from Charlottetown to Murray Harbour was completed in 1905 and the original railway station in Iona was named Fodhla Station after a poetic name for Ireland.
The trail from Iona runs along a hardwood ridge between the headwaters of the Montague River to the north and the Pinette River to the south. At railway grades, the trail changes from an elevation of 250' down to sea level over 16 kilometres. Maple, yellow birch and beech trees provide a comfortable canopy to Ocean View and Gairloch. Then the canopy begins to change to occasional majestic pines and more spruce. These lands were originally settled in 1803 by Scottish highlanders brought over by Lord Selkirk, for whom the Selkirk Road (nearby) is named.

Km 29 - Melville. The Melville Bridge is one of the larger railway structures in the province, high above the Flat River. It was reconstructed by the Military Engineers in 2002 under a program sponsored by the Trans Canada Trail Foundation and a local initiative spearheaded by Donald Deacon. The pond on the north side supplied power for Beaton's Mills, the name by which the local post office was known until it closed in the late 1960s. A trail parking lot is located in the former Melville Station area. Crossing several roads, the route reaches Belle River. A small grassy clearing on the south side is the location of the former Belle River station.

Km 36 - Selkirk Road. The trail follows Douse's Road to a crossing at Selkirk Road (Route 23). A large millpond across the road on the Belle River once served MacLeods Mill. Ducks use the pond and Canada Geese are known to breed there, perhaps on the small wooded island. The trail follows the pond and a shelter provides a viewpoint. Another railway station was located on the southwest corner at the crossing of the Wood Islands Road (km 36.9).

Km 37 - Junction.  The junction with a new route down to Wood Islands is located just beyond the Belle River  where a large two-chamber stone culvert passes under the trail. Note that this is the only branch of the trail featuring stone culverts, original from 1905. Ducks and herons are commonly sited on the edges of the river, north of the trail.

Km 38 - Wood Islands Bog.  East of the junction, the trail passes through bog for 500 metres. Small trees manage to survive in the acidic wetland. The moss-like surface is raised above the trail in places but a metal rod is easily pushed deep into the surface, finding no bottom at four feet. There is no obvious pond but a wide variety of wetland plants adorn the surface. An old railway culvert at the edge of the next road crossing is dated 1930, the latest date seen on these structures. It marks the year that the rail bed was widened in this area to accommodate standard-gauge track.

Km 42 - Hopefield is split by the county line, as the road name indicates. Entering Kings County, the trail is in thick mixed woodland, sometimes in cuttings and occasionally high above one of the creeks leading into the Murray River system.  It passes through a blueberry operation and plunges again into the woods.

Km 47 - The trail emerges in Murray River with a glimpse of the golf course to the north and passes close behind several homes. MacLures Pond is in the distance on the upper part of the river and Murray River Pines, a Provincial Natural Area, is on the far side. The very large flowering plants (reaching eight feet high) so thick on the edge of the trail in wet areas, are Angelica (also called wild celery).
Parking is available at Main St., beside the post office. The old rail station still exists behind the post office, quite visible from the trail. Murray River was named for James Murray, the first English governor appointed in Quebec after Wolfe defeated Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham. Samuel Holland named many features after prominent figures in the 1760s during the initial land survey.
Beyond the gazebo shelter at Main St., the trail immediately is in mixed woodland which is lined with Lupins in the spring. It has a full leafy canopy and is documented as an excellent area for birding, especially for small species like warblers.  The first crossroad is Pioneer Cemetery Road, named for the small early cemetery, easily reached from the trail on the south side. The second crossing is Route 18 where the last tragic railway accident happened in the late 1940s. The regular train hit a bus and four people were killed.

Km 51 - A small bridge in the middle of Jordan's Pond provides a pleasant viewpoint. From here the trail is never far from the highway, although it cannot be seen except at crossroads leading into Abney, Lot 64. The origin of the name is uncertain but the community was called Toronto in the mid 1800s.

Km 55 - Murray Harbour.  Quiet woodland prevails until the Station Road crossing at Murray Harbour, where trail parking is available. A former "T" for turning train engines is visible in the woods with careful inspection. This was not quite the end of the railway branch and a recent project has extended the trail two hundred metres into a former rail terminus beside the South River. The foundation of an old coal shed (later an engine shed) has been reused in a park setting to support an open longhouse with historical interpretive panels. A large gazebo overlooks the river near where a large railway roundhouse once stood beside a spot known as "the birches".  

Shelters are located at km 21.9, 26.4, 29.6, 36.4, 38.1, 43.1, 48.9, 55.4
Albums
Confederation Trail »
Friday, August 31, 2007  (44 images)