Most people drive through St. Thomas without realizing there’s a park floating nearly 10 storeys above their heads. The St. Thomas Elevated Park sits atop the Michigan Central Railroad Kettle Creek Bridge at King Street and Centre Street, and it’s genuinely the only thing like it in the country.
The bridge itself has been there since 1929, built for the Michigan Central Railroad and, at its peak, carrying over 50 freight and passenger trains daily. After the tracks were pulled, the community organization On Track St. Thomas pushed to convert it into something public. The park opened in 2017 and got an upgrade in 2019. It’s fully accessible, 850 feet long, and 30 feet wide, with public art, native gardens, seating, and views of the Kettle Creek valley in every direction.
It’s also a connection point on the Trans Canada Trail, so if you’re a cyclist or hiker doing the longer route through Elgin County, this is literally on your path. The 13-kilometre City of St. Thomas Trail section runs right through downtown and past the park.
The elevated park is part of a bigger rail heritage picture in St. Thomas. The restored CASO Station, the Elgin County Railway Museum, and the rail-themed murals downtown all tie back to the city’s identity as the Railway Capital of Canada. The bridge is a big piece of that, and it’s now a legitimate draw for rail history fans coming from well outside the region.
Railway City Tourism has a full visitor guide up on their blog at railwaycitytourism.com that covers what to expect before you go. Worth a read if you’re planning a trip and want to time it for sunset or birdwatching.
The address is 1 Centre Street, St. Thomas, with access from King Street and Centre Street. According to the Trans Canada Trail, On Track St. Thomas has funding in place to carry out a structural assessment of the park in the coming year.
If you’ve been up there, what’s the view actually like? Drop it in the comments.