Mdaabii Miikna - One bridge on the road to Canada 150

Pukaskwa National Park

By Garth Hardy

A tryptych of a man and a helicopter
Dan Michano, Asset Crew Member at Pukaskwa National Park, secures the sling hitch to the beam strapping as the helicopter begins its ascent.

How do you build a one-tonne bridge at a crossing 8 km down a hike-in-only access trail? With know-how, elbow grease… and a helicopter! On Friday, September 2, 2016 members of the asset team at Pukaskwa National Park set to work constructing a foot bridge on the park’s new backcountry loop trail. Mdaabii Miikna (Anishinaabemowin for ‘Go to the Shore Trail’) is scheduled to open May 15, 2017.

A Pukaskwa National Park construction crew boated down the coast to access the construction site and receive the five-metre, ten-by-ten beams, slung in by helicopter. The result, a well-built and solid bridge on this exciting new addition to Parks Canada’s trail system on Lake Superior’s north shore.

A man and a helicopter
Chance Kennedy, Pukaskwa National Park’s Technical Services Officer, co-ordinates details with the pilot as he fires up the helicopter to sling the first load of equipment to the bridge construction site.
Three wooden beams
Ready for construction.






A wooden footbridge.
Investments in visitor infrastructure, like this bridge on Mdaabii Miikna, ensure the quality and reliability of visitor facilities and continue to allow Canadians to connect with nature.

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