Hellertown’s Rainbow Bridge in Grist Mill Park is a special place where residents can remember pets who have passed away.
What was previously a nondescript pedestrian bridge across a small stream in a Hellertown park is now a colorful, meaningful place where local pet owners can lovingly remember the furry friends and family members who are no longer with them.
Hellertown’s Rainbow Bridge is located in Grist Mill Park, near the Saucon Rail Trail and the W. Walnut Street parking lot next to it.
Hellertown’s Rainbow Bridge was dedicated in October, at the conclusion of a transformation that began in August. The work was made possible because of a 2024 Eagle Scout project by local teenager Martin Jaramillo Zamora, who also refurbished part of a nearby trail in Grist Mill Park.
“This bridge was made possible through a lot of planning and help from the people of Boy Scout Troop 319,” Jaramillo Zamora shared on Facebook last month. He noted that Nick Young, another Eagle Scout, built the bridge as a project in 2009.
Jaramillo Zamora said he repaired wooden components that had deteriorated, watersealed the wooden structure, removed trees that were on the bridge and cleared the nearby trail of weeds and plants “for people to be able to enjoy using the bridge more.”
“I want to give thanks to everyone, from friends, family, Hellertown Borough, Bethlehem Landfill and Troop 319 for helping me execute my Eagle Scout project,” he wrote.
“The Rainbow Bridge” is a symbolic term for a place some people believe pets cross as they enter the afterlife. The term originated in the late 1950s and has become popular in recent years through literary use and especially via social media.
On Hellertown’s Rainbow Bridge, pet owners are able to display collars and tags in remembrance of their late companions by attaching them to a wire that runs along the side of it. The colorful collars bear names such as Alvin, Oliver, Romeo, Prince, Ari, Tucker and Kirby. There are also collars on which a pet’s name may be written.
The bridge is accessible from the Grist Mill Park parking lot next to the Saucon Rail Trail on W. Walnut Street in Hellertown. It is located just north of the lot, near the southwest corner of the soccer field.
According to a sign displayed at the end of the bridge, local business sponsors for it included A Furry Tail Unleashed, Hellertown Veterinary Center, Lehigh Valley Crematory, Main Street Gym, Perfect Seal Driveway Services, Salon Mia, Saucon Valley Sporting Goods, Saucon True Value and Unrivaled Nutrition + Training.
For more information, visit the Hellertown’s Rainbow Bridge Facebook page.
