Trip Rating: 4.0/5
One hundred years ago, Ontario had approximately 400 covered bridges. Today, the West Montrose covered bridge is the last one remaining. The town itself is a quaint, quiet and scenic place. Some of the attractions in the area include the St Jacobs Farmer’s Market and the original Home Hardware Store in the beautiful downtown stretch of King Street.
The West Montrose Covered Bridge was constructed in 1881 by John and Benjamin Bear and is the last drivable covered bridge in Ontario. If you plan your trip early in the day, you will see some of the local Mennonites driving their horse and buggies to the Market or Church. If you would like to take pictures, please remember to be respectful and ask permission.
The Region of Waterloo, in collaboration with the Township of Woolwich and local residents, is committed to maintaining the West Montrose Covered Bridge as a viable open bridge with the appropriate limitations to ensure that the heritage integrity of the structure is conserved.
Launch Sites:
This launch site is a bit tricky. There is a grass bank to launch from, but it is infront of some private residences. Extreme care should be taken to be clean and quiet, disturbing people’s home is unacceptable.
Once you unload, there is a small parking lot down the road with a porta-poty. To find this location, enter 1232 Rivers Edge Dr, West Montrose, ON N0B 2V0, Canada into your GPS.
Cost: $0.
Difficulty: Depending on the time of year, this ranges from bottom scraping low water (summer-fall), to class III-IV currents(spring). Please use caution and pre scout the river to be sure you are comfortable with the difficulty level.