P.E.I. coastal trail ready for test hike

A member of the Island Trails group is heading off on a test walk of a new trail following the P.E.I. coast that he helped map out.

Bryson Guptill said he designed the trail to hug the coastline rather than go tip-to-tip up the middle of P.E.I. as the Confederation Trail does.

He expects the 700-kilometre trail will take about 30 days to walk, doing 25 to 30 kilometres each day and stopping at B&Bs at night.

Guptill modelled the route after popular trails in Europe, including the Camino, and he is hopeful it could attract a lot of tourists to the Island.

"The potential is stupendous," he said.

"You look at what has been happening in Europe, the Camino is probably the best-known example, and you had about 2,500 people documented walking it in 1985 and now it's 300,000 plus, this year it'll be 320,000. So it's an enormous potential for people who want to do these long-distance walks."

The challenge has been finding accommodations, Guptill said, especially in western areas of the Island, and particularly in the shoulder season.

He's thankful for the offers of rides at the end of a day of hiking to get to places to stay.

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