This is a bit of a weird post…
We always, always try to visit all the parts of a park, notably the splash pad AND playground, but even at 8am the playground had roughly (I counted) 57,372 day camp children playing at the park. Which made any picture taking completely unfeasible.
Wait, stop! UPDATE: Many, many thanks to Lorraine Goh who went and took great photos of the empty playground for me. Yeah!
But first, the splash pad:
I spent quite a bit of time the other morning messaging this borough back and forth trying to find out what time their splash pads opened in the morning, and finally received an answer. But even after adding the time onto their website (8am-9pm) the water wasn’t on when we arrived at about 8:10. LUCKILY, we met the nicest city employees EVER who turned on the water so I could take some photos and video. Nicest people ever. Like really, they moved their equipment and everything and changed the water sequencing so I could get every feature on video. LOVE.
This splash pad is beautiful. Lovely products from Waterplay’s Surf Spray Mini Collection with different zones for different ages. There are low-to-the-ground balls to turn (and spray your mother with), the lovely tall Rain Cap umbrella with just the right amount of dripping water, the super fun and pretty Surfboard, the 360º turning Fun-Guy, water cannons, tall sprayers, tipping bucket, and water tunnels to run through. Use the button on the post, and the pretty button on the ground to turn on the different water sequences. Another lovely thing here is that the splash pad was completely SHADED. There are giant mature trees surrounding the water area. Which made picture taking hard, but is nice for hot days!
There was still a bit of landscaping happening when we were there, as the splash pad had JUST opened, but there are (older) picnic tables right near the water, as well as benches and some cool wooden lounge chair type things nearby.
This splash pad replaces the old wading pool and is not close to the playground. So it’s really a “pack up your things and travel” type park.
The playground has two large play structures for both toddlers and older kids; both have slides, lots of metal ladders and rungs, and the toddler climber also has a staircase. In this area, you’ll also find a trio of spring riders, a metal balance beam, two adult, and four baby swings. There’s also the weirdest old-school spinner!
Just across the path is the big play structure for older kids. No stairs, but tons of ladders and multiple slides. You’ll also find some modern spinners, retro seesaws, adult swings, and one adaptive swing.
Things to note:
-The water should be on from 8am-9pm.
-There is no fencing.
-The chalet looks lovely but was still undergoing some work so we didn’t check it out. We haven’t found any hours of operation for this borough, though they’re generally open during the summer months. (EDIT: It’s probably open now!)
-The rest of this park has baseball and soccer fields.
-The playground is all on sand (including the adaptive swing). WTF.
-There are picnic tables, tons of benches, and a drinking fountain right near the playground areas.
MacDonald Park – Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce from StrollerMom on Vimeo.
