West Montrose Covered Bridge

I was so excited to visit my first Canadian covered bridge! It was a real beauty!!! Too bad the surrounding neighbors don’t seem to want to share it :-(
THE SCENE
EVERY house/​business near this bridge has a straight-​to-​the-​point sign saying «keep off my property» in one form or another. This wouldn’t have bothered me so much if the bridge wasn’t almost completely surrounded by private property making it nearly impossible to photograph from most angles.
It was very frustrating finding a place to stop and take a few pictures, but I get the feeling that is exactly what the locals are trying to accomplish. Letson Park is nearby, but it’s not really a park at all (just a few picnic tables) and didn’t seem to encourage parking since the gravel area was only slightly wider than a driveway. The only area that seemed to be free of signage was the grassy area on the southwest side of the bridge, but there is very little space to pull your car over on the narrow roadside.
*** It should be noted I never encountered a homeowner. Only their signs. ***
BRIDGE FACTS
Known as the kissing bridge, this barnyard red old lady is a real beauty. The historic marker lists her as the ONLY covered bridge in in the province of Ontario, but that is actually no longer true. Considering Ontario is roughly the size of Texas and California combined, this makes her a unique landmark worthy of celebrating.
Built in 1880 at a length of 198 feet, the bridge is 135 years old and still carries vehicular traffic. It was definitely as picturesque as I was hoping, but because of the amount of time it took to get here from our hotel in Niagara Falls we had to cancel our day trip to Toronto. Too bad, because that was a portion of the trip I was really looking forward to and the people probably would have been a whole lot more welcoming. Darn this covered bridge fetish of mine!!!
FINAL THOUGHTS
I understand how frustrating strangers drifting onto or parking in front of your property repeatedly could probably be to a homeowner. However, considering this is the ONLY historic covered bridge in all of Ontario (which is practically large enough to fit every east coast state inside it from Florida to Maine), I would think local officials would work to make it more visitor friendly. Such a significant landmark shouldn’t make you feel like you’re going to be shot for trespassing or jailed for pulling over to pay it a visit. I was told Canadians are amazingly friendly, but it certainly didn’t come across here.
The bridge itself — 5 stars
The unwelcoming atmosphere surrounding the bridge — 0 stars

The only covered bridge remaining in Ontario. (Outside of New England, New Brunswick and southern Quebec, these things seem to occur geographically in irregular clumps, Ontario not being one of them,) No hills to frame it but a picturesque spot on the Grand River. Truss work is of the diagonal type rather than the interior arch found on some covered bridges. Too bad there is not more to see in the immediate area but it is near St. Jacobs, Fergus and Elora.

Do you like bridges? Do you like covered bridges, like in Bridges of Madison County? Do you like picturesque covered bridges in an idyllic countryside setting? Well, you have come to the right place!
A piece of Ontario’s history, the West Montrose Covered Bridge is the only remaining covered bridge in the province. Covered bridges were once common, as the covered bridges provided protection for the wooden members used in the structures. Visitors come from all over to see the bridge, and its famous image is featured on a number of Waterloo Region postcards and memorabilia.
As pretty as it looks in the pictures, it looks even better in person… come and take a visit today!