Parc of the Montagne des Roches

Arrondissment: Charlesbourg

Address: Boulevard du Loiret, Quebec, QC, G2L

Nearest bus stop: The Closest bus-stop found includes an hour walk before arriving at the park

Parking: street parking with no time limit

Playground surface: Woodchips

Age range: 18 months and up

Swings? No

Sandbox? No

Splashpad?No

Swimming pool? No

Toilets? No

Picnic tables? Yes

Other facilities: Beautiful walking trail that is skinny but stroller friendly and a duck pond

What I liked: along the side of the walking trail the trees and wooded area is very visible so my toddler could run through the trees beside me and I was able to see him the whole time allowing him to explore a bit on his own.The smaller child play structure had a lot of climbing places and very entertaining.

What I didn’t like: lack of shade for babies that are not mobile and able to play at the playground area

PARC NOTRE-DAME DE FOY

Arrondissment: Sainte-Foy-Sillery-Cap-Rouge

Address: 771 rue Jacques-Berthiaume (off Chemin Sainte-Foy)

Nearest bus stop: Ch.-Martin/1424 (buses 13, 107, 807, 907)

Parking: Free street parking (2 hours maximum). There is also a small free car park for users of the Centre de Loisirs.

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? Yes

Toilets? Yes, but only when the Centre de Loisirs is open.

Picnic tables? Yes

Other facilities: Baseball field, basketball court, petanque terrain, ice rink, tennis courts.

What I liked: This is our local park, so we go there all the time. Sebastian particularly loves the splashpad, which has a little water course for boats.

What I didn’t like: Nothing.

PARC SAINT-FRANÇOIS-XAVIER

Arrondissement: Les Rivières

Address: 2175 rue Laurent-Laroche

Nearest bus stop: Laverdière (bus 86)

Parking: Free street parking

Playground surface: Wood chips

Age range: 18 months-12 years

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

Sandbox? No

Splashpad? Yes

Swimming pool?

Toilets? No

Picnic tables? Yes

Other facilities: Ice rink

What I liked: This is a brand new playground, built last year. I loved the space theme, especially the rocket ship climber. I also liked the wheelchair-accessible picnic tables.

What I didn’t like: Unusually, there is a single set of playground equipment for children aged 18 months to 12 years. If you have smaller children, you'll probably want to keep them away when large groups from the primary school nextdoor come to use it. Luckily, when we were there, they only stayed for about 20 minutes.