PARC DE LA GRAND-OASIS

Arrondissment: La Haute-Saint-Charles

Address: 1920 rue des Tricornes

Nearest bus stop: Bus 282 stops on rue de Venus along the northern edge of the park, while bus 82 stops on nearby avenue Lapierre.

Parking: Free car park

Playground surface: Sand; wood chips

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

Swings? Yes - 2 for babies; 4 for older children

Sandbox? Yes

Splashpad? Yes

Swimming pool? No

Toilets? Yes but they were closed.

Picnic tables? No, but there are bleachers around the football pitches.

Other facilities: Football (soccer) pitches; skate park. What I liked: This is a really lovely little park, especially with the autumn colours. There is an interesting variety of playground equipment, including a rock climbing wall. Sebastian and Penelope also enjoyed crawling through the metal sculpture (which you can just about see in the photos below).

What I didn’t like: Lack of seating. Toilets were closed.

PARC PRÉVERT

Arrondissment: Les Rivières

Address: 1475 rue Virginia-Woolf

Nearest bus stop: Several buses including the 72 and the 82 stop nearby on Boulevard Bastien. Buses 70 and 75 stop near the community centre on boulevard la Morille.

Parking: Free car park and free street parking

Playground surface: Wood chips

Age range: 18 months-12 years

Swings? Yes - 3 for babies; 3 for older children, plus an adaptive swing for children over 5 with disabilities (see photo)

Sandbox? Yes

Splashpad? Yes

Swimming pool? No but there is a heated outdoor one at the nearby community centre (Loisirs Lebourgneuf).

Toilets? Probably in the community centre buildings but they were closed when we were there.

Picnic tables? Yes

Other facilities: Baseball field; basketball court; football (soccer) pitches; ice rink; petanque terrains; skate ramps; tennis courts.

What I liked: There is so much to do in this playground. Even though some parts are designed for older children, Sebastian was able to use them easily with little help from me.

What I didn’t like: The equipment is for both younger and older children. It made me very nervous when big kids were running back and forth across the rope bridge (where the holes are big enough for toddlers to fall through) while Sebastian was on it!

Parc Maria- Goretti

Arrondissment: Charlesbourg

Address: 7475 Avenue Paul Comtois, Quebec QC, G1H 5X6

Nearest bus stop: Cloutier/3122 stops 3,82a,972

Parking: street parking available on both sides of the park with no time limit

Playground surface: Grass, dirt/sand and wood chips

Age range: 9 months and up

Swings? 4 baby swings, 2 older kid swings

Sandbox? Sort of (there is an unused volleyball net that is sand filled)

Splashpad? No

Swimming pool? No

Toilets? Yes (at the community centre but it is not always open)

Picnic tables? Yes

Other facilities: Pump track, soccer field and a lot of grassy area for picnics and playing.

What I liked: I like the diversity of this park. There seems to be something for all ages. There is some trees that give great shade for smaller ones to play on blankets while watching older kids play at the playground or on the pumptrack.

What I didn’t like: This park is between 2 roads.