The St. Thomas Elevated Park soars 95 feet over the Kettle Creek valley and is the only elevated park in all of Canada. If you live in Ontario, it’s totally worth the day trip, located in St. Thomas.

How does an elevated park come to be, you may be thinking? Well, this one started back in 1929 as the Michigan Central Railroad Kettle Creek Bridge. Today, visitors travel from far and wide to stroll the pathway.

From railway to elevated park

Opened in 1929, the Michigan Central Railroad Kettle Creek Bridge carried over about 40 trains per day once upon a time.

The entire project cost $689,000, which in the early 1900s was quite a bit of money for a construction project.

Eventually, the railway was abandoned and in order to preserve its history and was transformed into “the most recognizable and iconic structures in Southwestern Ontario.”

In 2017, the St. Thomas Elevated Park was unveiled to the city, spanning 30 feet in width and 850 feet in length, while still preserving the integrity of the railway that stood before it, soaring over the valley below. You may even hear the project referred to as the park in the sky!

Over the years, the park has become even more beautiful with the addition of small features, such as flowerbeds. Today, it features incredible public art pieces that line the main pathway.

Getting there

The park is located about 30 minutes outside of London, Ontario.

If you’re looking for a parking spot, there’s room on Centre Street just outside the structure. Parking is also available at the Jumbo Memorial, which can be found about half a block north on Talbot Street.

Open from dawn until dusk year-round, there’s no bad time to check out this fascinating landmark. It’s pretty cool to be able to say you’ve visited the first and only elevated park in the whole country!

St. Thomas Elevated Park

Where: 1 Centre Street – St. Thomas, Ont.
When: Open daily from dawn until dusk

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Taylor Lucas

Associate Editor – Taylor is a Toronto-based journalist with a passion for storytelling. Whether chasing a story, writing, or editing, she brings a creative spin to the media world and has a blast doing it. Taylor brings years of journalism experience in sports, local/national news, and entertainment. In her spare time, you can typically find Taylor trying out a new restaurant or cocktail bar, cooking, golfing or binge-watching true crime documentaries.

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