Upper Bridge at Hendricks Park

Bench and bridge in the winter beside the stream in Hendricks park beside Chemin du Vieux-Pont. Photo by Laura Wesley.

If you’re out for a hike at Hendricks Park on the trails behind Fairbairn House, you will find lots of benches when you need a rest. There are also a number of bridges to take you across streams and connect with other parts of the trails. ​

For the Bridge that connects the trails to Chemin du Vieux-Pont, funding was donated by the Cohen family. Local businesses supplied the bridge and materials to build it. Nick Appleby built the bridge in his workshop. The two large rocks that the bridge sits on came from Selection Plus, who delivered them on the same day that the old bridge was removed and the new one delivered by Ryan’s Towing. Volunteers helped to lift it into place and set it on the rocks using a hand-powered winch.

​With funding from the Municipalité de La Pêche and private donations from the community of trail users, two other bridges in Fairbairn Park have also been replaced in the last five years. The one near the barn was replaced most recently; in 2023. Like all of the trails built and maintained by Sentiers Wakefield Trails, these are open year-round, and free to use by humans and their four-legged pals, as long as they are on leash.

Ken Bouchard stands behind Phil and Glennis Cohen as they “unveil” the plaques hiding under dishcloths on the day the bridge was installed. Photo by Nick Appleby.

One plaque on the bridge at the top of the stream beside Chemin du Vieux-Pont reads “Welcome to Algonquin Anishinàbe Unceded Territory” in English, French and Anishinabemowen.

The other plaque on the Bridge beside Chemin du Vieux-Pont says “Welcome to Hendrick Park / Bienvenue au Parc Hendrick” alongside the names of the sponsors of the bridge, community members Glennis and Phil Cohen.