des Hirondelles Park

Just around the corner from Verger Labonté, you’ll find this park which includes a playground, lovely tennis courts, baseball field, terrain de pétanque, a wheelchair-accessible picnic table, benches, and great washrooms. There’s also a fairly large parking lot, and many people visiting the orchard leave their cars in the lot here or along the street. 

Previously, there were two play structures here, one for older kids with slides, ladders etc; and one for toddlers with stairs, tic-tac-toe wall and a little slide. All of that has been replaced with a new deckless play course, and while I actually like this psychomotor course from Jambette with its sky wheels and various metal rungs and ladders to climb; I’m not sure kids “get” it.
“It’s like a course, start at one end and go around without touching the ground!”
“Hmmm.”
So it might take some getting used to. 
The city has also recently added in an easy-to-climb stand-alone slide as quite a few people were unhappy that there was basically nothing for younger kids to play on. I’d love to see one more “toddler-friendly” thing like a spring rider or a vehicle to drive, because this is the only playground in the area, and really needs to appeal to all ages. 

Despite there being quite a few people, this was a pretty relaxing spot. We took a stroll past the tennis courts, and had a run through the baseball field. 
I forgot to update our picture of the chalet opening hours (they’re 9-3 in the fall), but we visited mid-day in July and the (really nice!) bathrooms were open. 

p.s. Bring along some books to trade as there is a book house/boîte à livres right in the park where you can take or leave a book. And new this summer is a toy-sharing box which will also be stocked during the winter. There were balls, chalk, and other toys that kids can borrow while playing in the park. Just make sure to put everything back before you leave!

(The pictures are from a couple of visits as it was sunny the second time around and I couldn’t resist redoing some of them)

Feature
Toddler park (2-5)
Fenced toddler park
Baby swings
Big kid park (5-12)
Big kid swings
Parking lot
Street parking
Shade
Water fountain
Picnic tables
Benches
Seasonal Bathrooms
Green space
Soccer fields
Baseball field
Tennis courts
Basketball
Splash pad
Pool
Reduced mobility swings
Dep nearby

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