Wingham Community Trail

Like many Ontario towns, Wingham owes its existence to a river. Back in the spring of 1858, Edward Farley floated down the river from the now-vanished village of Bodmin to what is now the location of Wingham where he cleared land and built a log cabin.

The river became a source of power for early industries, but times changed. In 1983, with the failure of the dam that had backed up the water to power the Howson’s flour mill, it was not repaired (the mill had burned decades earlier) and nature reclaimed the river flats.

In 1991, a committee set out to turn the area into an ecological park. Today the trees and shrubs they planted have matured and the trails provide a pleasant walk for residents and visitors alike. 

The parking lot for the trail is at the north end of town on Josephine Street (Wingham’s main street) through the big wooden arch on the west side of the street. This entrance leads to the spectacular lookout on the 150-metre-long former CN Rail bridge which was saved after the railway wanted to demolish it in 1995.

After crossing the bridge the trail turns left and follows the west bank of the Maitland River through a quiet forest in the Turnberry Flood Plain Conservation Area. The trail continues for a short distance over the bridge on Victoria Street then turns left again and back to the east riverbank. A short side trail affords a lovely view of the river and you may chance to see a heron fishing along the reclaimed river flats. The main trail will follow the river and take you through parkland with benches, gardens and the town’s splash pad, and eventually return you to the Josephine St parking area. Josephine St, Wingham.