Arrondissment: La Haute-Saint-Charles
Address: 20 boulevard des Étudiants
Nearest bus stop: Aymot (bus 284)
Parking: Free car park across the street
Playground surface: Sand; wood chips
Age range: 18 months-5 years; 5-12 years
Swings? Yes - 2 for babies; 2 for older children
Sandbox? Yes
Splashpad? Yes
Swimming pool? No
Toilets? Currently has portable toilets (one with a huge hole burned into the back wall!)
Picnic benches? Yes, dirty-looking metal ones covered in graffiti
Other facilities: None
What I liked: The playground equipment looked new and well-maintained. I loved the design of it (I’ve noticed that all the best-looking playgrounds in Quebec City are by the same Lévis-based company, Jambette). Sebastian particularly enjoyed the ‘treehouse’, the insect-themed climbers and the fossil markers on the ground, while I enjoyed watching him in the shade of the stage, where in normal times, there are regular concerts and plays. After he had finished playing, we went for a lovely walk across the river to the Hôtel-Musée Premières Nations in Wendake. I learned from the signs that this area is part of something called the Great Trail of Canada, which is a more or less continuous, 27,000km network of trails running through all 13 provinces and territories.
What I didn’t like: Parts of the pedestrian path are too narrow or uneven for strollers. We tried to walk along the 22km Corridor des Cheminots, which runs through the park, but I felt it was too dangerous to let an unpredictable little toddler loose with all the bikes zooming past so fast.
