Um…Wow? Yes. WOW.
I’d read that Parc Rougemont had undergone a 1.5 million dollar renovation, so we put it on the summer to-do list, and finally made it down the crater-filled street that is Notre-Dame East (sorry car) and north a few blocks to this A-mazing park.
And we all LOVED IT.
The entire park has been redone including the park furnishings, landscaping, basketball court, playgrounds, terrain de pétanque, chalet, and the old wading pool has been transformed into one of the most interesting splash pads we’ve seen.
It’s so good it’s going in our FAVOURITES list!
We easily found free street parking (but read the signs), and the boys skipped across the grass to the bright new Playworld play structures. I’d brought along my 8-year old and my 7-year old nephew, and felt sad that my motorcycle-obsessed toddler wasn’t with us to enjoy (and race) the FOUR motorcycle spring riders in the toddler area. The GameTime climber is separated into different parts and connected by low-to-the-ground steps and has climbing walls, stairs, and slides. There’s also a bowl spinner, an interesting dome climber, and baby swings. The elevated sand table is adorable, but would have been better placed somewhere where it would be accessible, instead of down in the sand.
None of the park is fenced, but it is set back a bit from the road. We visited mid-afternoon on a HOT day, and the toddler area had some decent shade, though the rest of the playground was quite sunny and the splash pad was in full sun.
Just across the path the big boys were hooting and hollering as they ran up and down the slides, crossed the log balance beam, and swung from the monkey bars and the turning overhead spinner. Also in the wood chips are big-kid swings.
Wandering over to the chalet, we noticed the wooden Boîtes à activités spontanées which holds various toys and sports items. To get the padlock code, you must visit the Maison des jeunes Magi et La Piaule de Guybourg inside the chalet during opening hours (Mondays-Wednesday 5:30-8:30 and Thursdays and Fridays 5:30-9:00). Which must also be the hours of the washrooms inside the chalet, as when we tried the doors mid-afternoon, they were locked. Which is a shame as there are no other washrooms available in the park 🙁 *see note at bottom.
So hiding behind a towel, the boys changed into the bathing suits, threw their stuff on the bright blue benches, and found the magic button to start the water. And if you don’t want a surprise, the button is foot-activated and is at the “Départ”. And why is Départ painted on the ground? Because the entire concrete base is painted as a giant, colourful, and creative board game.
Spin the wheel and follow the numbers past the various water features from Aquajeux including through the rainbow hoops, under the Surprise Duo Spinner with its dumping buckets, across ground jets, past the super cool water cannons, and reach the finish line soaking wet, and super happy!
Things to note:
-The water is on from 8am-11pm!
-The borough has posted that the opening hours for the chalet/bathroom are as follows:
Chalet de parc – Parc Rougemont
Lundi au jeudi – 10 h à 21 h 30
Vendredi – 10 h à 20 h 30Samedi et dimanche – 13 h à 20 h
To find activities happening throughout summer 2017 in Mercier—Hochelaga-Maisonneuve parks, visit THIS LINK.
Rougemont Park – Mercier—Hochelaga-Maisonneuve from StrollerMom on Vimeo.
