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From Wikivoyage

Summerside is the second-largest city on Prince Edward Island. The Summerside area was at one time home to the world's largest concentration of Tame Silver Fox farms. This is highlighted at the International Fox Museum.

Understand

Summerside City Hall

This article covers a large rural area comprising most of western PEI, centred on Summerside (pop 14,750) as the second-largest community on the island.

Summerside was host to a Royal Canadian Air Force base from 1942-1991; the land is now an industrial park and the airfield used only for general aviation.

Get in

By car

  • From the Trans-Canada Highway, take PEI Route 1A (near Borden-Carleton) for 22 km (14 mi) north-northwest to Route 11 and Summerside.
  • From Charlottetown, Summerside is 60 km (37 mi) west on Route 2.

By bus

Get around

See

  • 1 Eptek Art and Culture Centre, 130 Heather Moyse Dr, ☏ +1 902 888-8373, fax: +1 902 888-8375. Tu-F 10AM-4PM, Su noon-4PM; Jul-Aug: open until 5PM. Regional history and art gallery, including permanent collection of paintings by late Island artist Georgie Read Barton. (updated Nov 2019)
  • 2 International Fox Museum, 33 Summer St. Jul-Aug: daily 10AM-4:45PM. Prince Edward Island fox farming history museum on the first level of the former Summerside Armoury (1911-1992) describes the growth, decline and legacy of the rare Silver Black Fox, once farmed commercially; Gallery 33 seasonal exhibit space upstairs. By donation. (updated Nov 2019)
  • 3 Wyatt Historic House Museum, 75 Spring St, ☏ +1 902 432-1296, fax: +1 902 432-1328. Jul-Aug: open daily. 1867 heritage house with thousands of artefacts collected and used by the Wyatt family. 
  • 4 Acadian Museum of Prince Edward Island (Le Musée acadien de l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard), 23 Main Drive East, Highway 2, Miscouche (8 km west of Summerside), ☏ +1 902 432-2880. Jul Aug: daily 9:30AM-5PM; Sep-Jun: M-F 9:30AM-5PM, Su 1PM-4PM. Photographs, storyboards and a 15-min film that explain the history of Acadians in PEI. Adult $4.50, student $3.50, family $12.50. (updated Nov 2019)
  • The city has redeveloped several waterfront industrial sites, abandoned by the railway and marine terminal during the 1990s, into new parkland. A major reconstruction of the west end seawall has resulted in a new waterfront boardwalk for residents and visitors.
  • The former post office on Summer Street was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1983. The former railway station, designed by architect Charles Benjamin Chappell and built in 1927, was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2007.

Do

  • The Summerside Raceway is a standardbred harness racing track which is believed to be the oldest operating racing track in Canada, having opened in 1886.
  • Credit Union Place, the largest indoor sports facility in the province, has a large hockey arena seating 4000, a bowling alley, a 25-metre swimming pool and other fitness facilities.

Events

Buy

Spinnakers' Landing, Harbour Dr
  • Spinnakers' Landing, 150 Heather Moyse Dr at Harbour Dr. Daily 10AM-9PM. Summerside’s waterfront marketplace was designed on a fishing village theme. Its shops and artisanal studios feature souvenirs, clothing, antiques, jewellery, local art, and Celtic giftware. It has an ice cream shop, and restaurants featuring local seafood, pub fare, and barbecue. (updated Jan 2021)
  • Summerside Farmers Market, 250 Water St (Holman Building, lower level), ☏ +1 902-598-8082. Sa 9AM-1PM. Artisan and craft products, farm produce, bakery and prepared foods. 

Eat

Dinner theatre

Drink


Sleep

Connect

Nearby

Miscouche

An Acadian village 10 km (6.2 mi) west of Summerside on Route 2 or 11.

  • Acadian Museum of Prince Edward Island, Route 2, Miscouche, ☏ +1 902-432-2880. Sep-Jun: M-Sa 9:30AM-5PM, Su 1PM-4PM; Jul-Aug: daily 9:30AM-7PM. Historical museum with a genealogical research/documentation centre retracing Acadian history after 1720; art gallery adjacent. $5.25. 

O'Leary

About 60 km (37 mi) northwest on Route 2, in the westernmost part of the province.

  • Canadian Potato Museum, 1 Heritage Lane, O’Leary, ☏ +1 902-859-2039. May 15-Oct 15: daily 09:30-17:30. Interactive Potato Hall of Fame and an array of farming tools and equipment on display; canteen menu includes potato maple-butter tarts, potato fudge and even a potato hot dog. $9.50. (updated Dec 2017)
  • 5 West Point Lighthouse Museum, 364 Cedar Dunes Park Rd, West Point, ☏ +1 902-859-3605. Seasonal (Victoria Day-Thanksgiving). A formerly-manned light house (built in 1875, automated in 1963) serves as an observation platform, restaurant and inn at Cedar Dunes Provincial Park. West Point Lighthouse (Q30575123) on Wikidata 

Wellington

About 20 km (12 mi) west on Route 2.

  • Our Lady of Mont-Carmel church, Route 11, Wellington, ☏ +1 902-854-2208. Acadian brick church (1896) overlooking Northumberland Strait just east of Cap-Egmont. 

Cap-Egmont

  • 6 The Bottle Houses, 6891, Route 11, Cap-Egmont (31 km west of Summerside on PE-11), ☏ +1 902 854-2987, toll-free: +1-866-671-2987. Daily 10AM-6PM. A project of Édouard Arsenault and his daughter, Réjeanne Arsenault, three buildings constructed of glass bottles are surrounded by beautiful gardens. Adult $8, student or senior 60+ $7.50, child 6 to 16 $3, under 6 years old free, family (max 2 adults) $20. The Bottle House, P.E.I (Q111951301) on Wikidata The Bottle Houses on Wikipedia (updated Jun 2021)

Go next

Routes through Summerside
END ←  W  E  → Borden-Carleton → END
END ← Tignish ←  W  E  → Kensington → Charlottetown


This city travel guide to Summerside is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.
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