Prince Edward Island’s winter season is packed with festivities, including WinterDine’s culinary delights, exhilarating outdoor activities at the Winterval Festival, and the Winter Warmth Festival in Summerside.
The Ice City Festival and Jack Frost Winterfest offer family fun, and the PEI Beer Festival caters to craft beer lovers. Retreats at Nature Space Resort, scenic snowshoeing, sleigh rides, and historical explorations at the Acadian Museum enrich the island’s winter charm.
Here are fun activities to do this winter in PEI.
1. WinterDine
WinterDine is Downtown Charlottetown’s dining festival and this year there are 20 participating restaurants across downtown. Each location will have a 3-course meal for $35, $45, or $55, and 2-corse meal for $12, $16, or $20, depending on the restaurant and items offered from their menu. So, give your taste buds a treat and spend an evening sampling some of Charlottetown’s best cuisine.
January 22 – 28, January 29 – February 4, February 5 – 11, 2024
Various Restaurants throughout Charlottetown
2. Winterval Festival
Immerse yourself in the winter wonderland of Points East Coastal Drive, where Winterval brings a fusion of exhilarating activities like sledding, skating, and snowshoeing. and experience a magical getaway in Eastern PEI!
Details
January 26 – 28, 2024
Brudenell and Points East Coastal Drive.
3. Winter Warmth Festival
With good eats, invigorating activities and opportunities to gather for fun, the Winter Warmth Festival invigorates your heart, mind, and soul. Enjoy culinary events, moonlight snowshoe walks, skating, fat biking, live entertainment and seaside fun.
Details
January 23 – February 12, 2024
Summerside
4. Martha Wainwright
Head to Trailside Music Hall to enjoy an evening with Martha Wainwright. Her latest album, “Love Will Be Reborn,” featuring original material since 2012’s “Come Home to Mama.” This fifth studio album reflects her journey through solitude towards a newfound sense of optimism and joy.
Trailside Music Hall, January 21, 2024
Charlottetown
5. Cheer Charlottetown Home Teams
We may not have NBA or NHL Champions, but we can enjoy quality sports without paying through the nose! Get to Eastlink Centre and cheer Island Storm (Canadian professional basketball team) and Charlottetown Islanders (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League).
Winter to Early Spring.
Eastlink Centre, Charlottetown
6. Ice City Festival
Celebrate the winter and have lots of family fun at the Ice City Festival. There will be plenty of activities to keep everyone having fun and entertained including the ice sculptures, art installations and other wintery decor, Sugar Shacks weekends, horse and wagon rides, Skating Under the Stars, Flow in the Snow and more.
Jan 26 – Mar 31, 2024
Charlottetown
Varies
7. Winter Woodlot Tour
The Winter Woodlot Tour is intended to give both visitors and Islanders a taste of what forests can do for us. It is going to be a day packed with family fun, including snowshoeing, sleigh rides, and much more. When you are finished having fun outside, you can warm up with free hot cider.
Saturday January 27, 2024
8. Jack Frost Winterfest
February 16-19 and 23-25, 2024
Various Venues, Charlottetown
9. PEI Beer Festival
The Prince Edward Island Beer Festival is a haven for beer enthusiasts, merging the craft of brewing with lively entertainment. Brewers from the East Coast and beyond showcase their finest beers, ciders, and coolers. Attendees can enjoy acoustic music, engaging tasting sessions, and energizing DJ sets, fostering a vibrant community spirit.
February 23, 24, 2024
Delta Prince Edward, 18 Queen St, Charlottetown
10. Music Week on the Island
The week includes a showcasing of a variety of local musicians performing at venues in Charlottetown. The week culminates with the PEI Music Awards Galawhere the best and brightest local artists are celebrated for their achievements, so you get to check out too!
March 6-10, 2024.
Various Venues throughout Charlottetown
11. Embrace the Cold Well-Being Retreat
Embark on a three-day, all-inclusive retreat focusing on nature-therapy, self-care, and holistic wellness. This immersive experience offers stays in Mongolian Yurts or the Eagle’s Nest Loft, each featuring private hot tubs. The retreat emphasizes hot and cold therapy, incorporating guided breathwork, cold water therapy, and a luxurious day at Mysa Nordic Spa. Engage in unique activities like SoundEscapes with Trevor Grant, a sensory night walk, snowshoe yoga, and Loving Kindness Yoga
Nature Space Resort & Retreat Centre, 631 St. Peters Harbour Rd, St. Peters Harbour
12. Mill River Resort
Even when the snow starts falling, Mill River Resort hosts a variety of fun family activities and events, which include snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, an outdoor skating rink and an epic tubing hill.
Round up the family and make it a fun weekend with a stay at Atlantic Canada’s 4-season resort.
180 Mill River Resort Road, Route 136, Woodstock
Adult Day Pass: $10.00 – with rental: $20.00
Senior or Student Day Pass: $8.00 – with rental: $16.00
Family Day Pass (2 Adult & 2 Kids, additional $4.00 per person): $30.00 – with rental: $55.00
Skating Rink Pass: $7.00 (Ice skates are not available for rent from the Ski Shop at Mill River Resort)
Tubing Hill (includes tube rental): $7.00
13. Mark Arendz Provincial Ski Park
Hit the slopes and have a weekend of family fun at the Mark Arendz Provincial Ski Park. There are fun activities for people of all ages and skill levels. You can enjoy snowshoeing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, and alpine skiing at this popular ski park.
Brookvale
14. Enjoy a performance at the Confederation Centre
Enjoy a variety of heritage and arts programming from artists around the world at Charlottetown’s Confederation Centre.
The Confederation on Centre of the Arts experiences does not stop during winter. There are always shows in one of the five theatres and the art gallery to explore. The building covers an entire city block, so there is much to see and do inside on a snow day.
15. Mysa Nordic Spa & Resort
Mysa Nordic Spa & Resort, Prince Edward Island’s first Nordic spa, offers a tranquil retreat on the scenic banks of St. Peters Bay. Spread across 18 acres, the resort specializes in stress relief and sensory rejuvenation through its comprehensive spa services. These include thermal baths, essential oil steam rooms, cold water plunges, a Finnish sauna, meditation sessions, and massages. Guests can also indulge in fine dining at the onsite restaurant and enjoy stunning water views from any of the seventeen accommodations.
1668 Greenwich Rd, Saint Peters Bay
16. Go on a Sleigh Ride
Enjoy winter with a sleigh ride! Located in Mount Herbert, located five minutes outside of Charlottetown Great Northern Adventures provides sleigh rides by appointment day or evening and enjoy a sleigh or wagon ride. Children can experience a pony ride or just walk through the petting pen.
924 Fort Augustus Rd, Charlottetown
17. Enjoy Winter Scenery at PEI National Park
Spot that elusive wildlife, enjoy snow laden trees, and PEI’s famous lighthouses backdropped with white snowy beaches through hiking, and snowshoeing.
18. Fat Biking!
Prince Edward Island has over 1000 kilometres of trails to explore. If you’re looking for an outdoorsy getaway on a bicycle, and own a fat bike, PEI is your go-to-destination. Whether it’s dashing through the woodland trails meandering around trees, or out on the coastline braving the winter winds to capture the beauty of the frozen shores of PEI on a bicycle. Fat biking is a fantastic way to see the Island — and if you’re brave enough to brave the cold weather, you can make quite the holiday out of it, too.
19. The Oval at Queen Elizabeth Park
Head to the Oval at Queen Elizabeth Park if you want to skate on one of PEI’s best outdoor skating rinks. The city of Summerside maintains this outdoor skating surface during the winter months, so locals and visitors alike can have fun on the best outdoor ice surface in PEI.
Summerside
20. Rotary Friendship Park
During the winter, the nearly 5km trails in Rotary Friendship Park are groomed for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. See the farmers’ field, wetlands, and old growth trees covered in a blanket of snow.
Details
MacEwen Road, Summerside
21. Heather Moyse Heritage Park
Come winter, one of Summerside’s major parks becomes a winter wonderland. Cross-country skiers love to explore these trails. The park is open from 6 am to 10 pm daily.
Details
Ottawa Street, Summerside
22. Souris Striders Ski and Snowshoe Club
Pick from 4 trails that total 3km in length. The trails are groomed on a regular basis to ensure they are free from debris.
Details
6 km north of Souris at Harmony Junction on Rte. 305
Memberships will be available for $10, rentals and day passes for $5.
23. Winter River Trail
Go winter walking or snowshoeing at the trail, just minutes from Charlottetown. Enjoy sightings of winter wildlife, as you hike along the river ravine.
24. Ice Fish at Summerside Waterfront
Once the lake is frozen, grab your fishing pool and dress warmly as you may be waiting awhile for the fish to bite.
Details
25. The Table
Details
The Table Culinary Studio, 4295 Grahams Road, New London
26. PEI Tasting Tours
PEI Tasting Tours offers some great wine, beer and spirit tours as well as culinary tours that visitors to the region can enjoy.
Details
27. Sleep in a TreePOD at Treetop Haven
Spend the night, the weekend or the whole week at Treetop Haven, an all-season vacation and wellness destination boasting five TreePODS, geodesic domes in the trees. Located in Mount Tryon, this unique attraction and accommodation is set on a 50-acre private lot surrounded by mature trees so you can sit back and connect with nature. Details
1210 Mount Tryon Road, Mount Tryon
28. Bonshaw Hills Provincial Park
The lovely Bonshaw Hills Provincial Park is open all winter long. There are over 18 km of trails that will take you along the Bonshaw River. Parts of the natural adventure playground are not available during the winter.
29 Green Rd, Bonshaw
29. Go snowmobiling across PEI
If you have a winter ‘Need for Speed’, snowmobiling across the beautifully groomed Confederation Trail is the perfect activity. The Confederation Trail stretches 435 kilometres, so it goes from one end of the Island to the other and traces what once was the Prince Edward Island railway route. You can buy a ‘Trail Permit’ at various locations on the Island.
30. Acadian Museum
Follow the odyssey of Island Acadian from 1720 to present on a snow day. Acadian Museum is one of seven Museum and Heritage PEI sites, and is home artifacts from over 300 years.
Details
23 Main Dr, Rte 2, Miscouche
Things to Do This Winter in Charlottetown
Read More
15 Things to Do During Islander Day Weekend in PEI
Read More
Sugar Bushes in Prince Edward Island
Read More
10 Inns & Resorts For a Romantic Getaway on Prince Edward Island
Read More
10 Unique Experiences in PEI
Read More