Tunnels of sugar maple, red maple, beech, and red oak, bordered by lupins, black-eyed Susans, daisies, and Queen Anne’s lace... Prince Edward Island’s heritage roads are delightful pathways to the Island’s rural past. These red clay, sun-dappled roads bordered by wildflowers and native shrubs twist along fields and through wooded hills. In their day, they were commonly travelled roads between communities, connecting farms to sawmills and furniture factories. Having escaped asphalt paving, these clay lanes and their surrounding vegetation are now protected from alteration. Island wildlife also enjoy these roads which serve as corridors for foxes, squirrels, and snowshoe hares and as nesting areas for song birds. The Island’s heritage roads constitute a cultural and natural heritage unto themselves.

In Prince Edward Island, scenic heritage designation of roads became possible in 1987. Under the Planning Act regulations, individuals are prohibited from cutting or removing trees, shrubbery or plant life or in any way altering the landscape of a scenic heritage road without written permission from the minister responsible for the environment. There are sixteen heritage roads across the Island: three in Prince County, nine in Queens County, and four in Kings County.

The John Joe Road, also known as the Hackney Road, travels 2 kilometres from Route 142 (the Kelly Road) to Route 136, near Mill River Resort in western Prince County. With grain fields and potato fields alternating with woodland, travellers along the road journey through a representative Island rural landscape. A past resident of the road, John Joe Gallant’s name has long been associated with this lane. A Mr. Hackney, the road’s other namesake was apparently involved in the road’s construction in 1912–1914. Until Hackney’s work, there was little ‘road’ to speak of, consisting only of a cart track leading to a homestead in the wood. Near the southern end of the road, vestiges of an old stagecoach road can be found leading from Kelly Road toward Alberton.

The County Line Road, in the Darnley-Sea View area near Kensington, is a relatively straight but hilly stretch of road running south for 4.5 kilometres from Route 103 to Route 101. Travelling through open farmland and mixed woodland, the road leads up a high “magnetic” hill to a summit offering a spectacular view of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the north and the Island’s rolling hills to the south. Beyond its natural beauty, the County Line Road provides a fascinating peek into a piece of Island history. The hill is apparently so steep at its base that, in the days of yore, a wagon driver with a full load of grain could touch the ears of his horses while sitting in his seat. Undeterred by the risk to their precious cargo, it is also said that rumrunners would travel the secluded County Line Road when headed toward Kensington.

One of the most famous early roads, the Princetown Road dates to 1771, at which time it connected Charlottetown to Princetown (now Malpeque), the original capital of Prince County. The Warburton Road, forming a “Y” with the Princetown Road, dates to 1898. Winding its way 7.8 kilometres through steep hills, along woodlands, hedgerows, and farmlands, the Princetown-Warburton Road offers spectacular views of the Island’s patchwork of fields. Locals’ familiarity with their community’s hills and valleys has engendered the creation of local names for particular spots. Along this road, one will come across “Inch Hill,” “Burnt Hill,” and “Marianne’s Hollow.”

Jack’s Road, near Wood Islands, on the Island’s south shore winds 4 kilometres from Route 1 to Route 207. The lane acquired its name from Islanders frequently travelling to Jack MacPherson’s home in the early 1900s. The winding narrow road is bordered by hemlock, sugar maple, beech, and birch. In summer and fall, these trees in full leaf form a majestic archway over the sun-dappled clay.

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