The series was initially loosely inspired from a cross section of several books by Lucy Maud Montgomery, primarily The Story Girl and The Golden Road, both of which feature Sara Stanley and the King family.

Patricia Hamilton, Colleen Dewhurst, and Marilyn Lightstone, who had played the characters in the films, returned for the Road to Avonlea series.

Ten-year-old Montreal heiress Sara Stanley (Sarah Polley) is sent by her wealthy father to live with her two maiden aunts, Hetty and Olivia King, to be near her late mother's side of the family after an embezzlement scandal results in him being placed under house arrest.

Sarah Polley left the show in 1994, returning for a guest appearance in the sixth season as well as the series' finale episode.

Many famous actors made guest appearances on the show, including The Road to Avonlea set was constructed in Uxbridge, Ontario—the town where Lucy Maud Montgomery lived and wrote for a decade after moving from Prince Edward Island.

Photography and enhanced digital matter work married second-unit scenes of Prince Edward Island with the Leaskdale location where necessary.

[4] In 2016, Sullivan Entertainment announced it would launch their own streaming service called Gazebo TV that would feature the Road to Avonlea series among other titles produced by the company.