PARC FERLAND

Arrondissment: La Cité-Limoilou Address: 1600 8e Avenue Nearest bus stop: 8e Avenue (buses 3, 4, 36, 802) Parking: Free parking lot Playground surface: Wood chips Age range: 12 months+ Swings? Yes - 4 for babies; 4 for older children Sandbox? No Splashpad? Yes Swimming pool? Yes, there is an indoor pool in the adjoining community center Toilets? Yes, in the adjoining community center Picnic tables? Yes Other facilities: Basketball court, beach volleyball court, ice rink, petanque terrain. If you’re in Limoilou, this is a great alternative to Parc Cartier-Brébeuf if it’s crowded there, as it sometimes is. Despite being wedged in between a community center, Cégep Limoilou and some railroad tracks, it’s very quiet and serene there and is a green oasis for that part of the neighborhood. There are also several picnic tables and benches. It’s a pretty spacious park with separate play structures for younger and older kids. It’s clean and well-maintained, except for the slide for the younger kids which is broken and has been boarded off all summer. The slide for older kids is very high and not suitable for very young ones. The park also has a splash pad with an interesting art installation overhanging it –clothes hanging on a line, which you’ll see often in Limoilou. There are also some enormous, beautiful trees which create very good tree cover, so there’s plenty of shade at all times during the day.

The adjoining community center is a busy destination for summer day camps, and during the winter its huge pool is used for swimming lessons for all ages.

PARC NOTRE-DAME DE BELLEVUE

Arrondissment: La Cité-Limoilou

Address: 827 avenue de Vimy (off Chemin Sainte-Foy)

Nearest bus stop: de Vimy (807,907)

Parking: Free street parking (maximum 1 hour)

Playground surface: Wood chips

Age range: 18 months-5 years

Swings? Yes - 4 for babies; 4 for older children

Sandbox? No

Splashpad? No

Swimming pool? No

Toilets? No

Picnic benches? Yes

Other facilities: Petanque

What I liked: It’s on a quiet cul-de-sac, across the street from the Bellevue complex, which houses Loisirs Saint-Sacrement. Though the playground equipment here is older, with faded, peeling paint and weird, grammatically incorrent English graffiti, children seem to love it. Older visitors enjoy the stone chess tables and petanque terrain.

What I didn’t like: In summer, the park is used by day camps, as well as many of the nearby daycares, so it can be very busy and crowded.

Tip: Loisirs Saint-Sacrement is responsible for this park, as well as many others in the area. In normal times, they have lots of great activities for children and adults. I particularly like their excellent salle de psychomotricité (motor skills room) for toddlers, which is free to use. They also offer free tea and coffee, toilets, changing facilities and parking. They are located across the street at door number 4.

PARC VICTORIA

Arrondissment: La Cité-Limoilou

Address: 6 rue Robert-Rumilly

Nearest bus stop: Parc Victoria (buses 3, 4, 28, 64, 65, 74, 82, 84, 86, 801, 931)

Parking: Free car park at 1 rue du Cardinal Maurice Roy (maximum 1 hour)

Playground surface: Rubber

Age range: 18 months-5 years; 5-12 years

Swings? Yes - 4 for babies; 4 for older children

Sandbox? No

Splashpad? Yes

Swimming pool? Yes, there is an indoor pool called Piscine Lucien-Flamand, which is in the CPF Wilbrod-Bherer. There is also an outdoor pool nearby at Marina St-Roch on rue du Pont, just across the bridge (Passerelle Adrien-Pouliot).

Toilets? Yes

Picnic tables? Yes

Other facilities: Baseball field, basketball court, beach volleyball court, football (soccer) pitches (1 grass, 1 synthetic), ice rink, skate park, tennis courts.

What I liked: The playground is probably the best I have seen, with the largest variety of equipment, some of which is accessible by ramp for wheelchair users - though it should be noted that most of it is suitable for 5-12 year olds only. There is a smaller playground for younger children on the other side of the park, near rue Chênevert, but it’s pretty basic.

What I didn’t like: Before COVID-19, I could never find a parking space. The dedicated car park outside Stade Canac (the baseball stadium)/Club Social Victoria was nearly always full by the time I got there. I used to park on the street (avenue Simon-Napoléon Parent) near the playground, but that’s no longer allowed.

Tip: You fancy a nice walk, you can cross the bridge (Passerelle des Trois-Soeurs) to the Parc linéaire de la Rivière-Saint-Charles, a 32km trail, which follows the river from its source at Lac Saint-Charles to its mouth near the Old Port.