I’d read that this park had undergone a big renovation and was newly reopened, so on a balmy November day, the little one and I headed out to do some playing.
This playground is easy to get to, has lots of street parking, and when we saw new and shiny play structures we got excited. Then we went through the gate and got REALLY excited.
Everything here is brand new, creative, and fun. Both the toddler and big-kid sections have been redone, as well as the pathways and landscaping.
All the equipment is on wood chips, except for a small raised sand area near the toddler section.
The pirate-themed toddler climber is FANTASTIC. While there are no stairs, there are multiple ways to get up to the slides, steering wheel, walkways, and binoculars. We tried out the tiny ladder, the rope wall, the low-to-the-ground sky wheel/monkey rings, the wobbly stepping stones, rock climbing wall, and starfish steps. There are things all over to discover. There’s a pirate door, ground level (though a bit high) knobs, wheels and gears that actually click, ledges, portholes, and even a “plank”. We often play “WALK THE PLANK” at parks and there is an actual plank here! Brilliant.
The little guy said “What’s dat?” while pointing at the sextant. I was proud of myself for knowing what it’s called but will admit I had to Google it after to remember its use.
“Ummmmm. It’s for pirates. To find treasure.”
“Ooooooooooh. Ok!”
I love Jambette’s play structures but their listed maximum capacity always seems…ambitious. This one said 83 eighteen-month to five-year olds. Bwahahahahahaha.
Just beside the climber (which we could have explored for hours) are starfish and a zodiak boat spring-riders, a couple of spinny seats, baby swings, a large whale-climber, and two sea-blue seesaws. I really like the design of these seesaws as they don’t go too far off the ground, and offer some support for first time riders. Love that the pirate/sea theme carries over into the smaller equipment.
Across some grass and the new path is the big-kid section. Good sight lines and no trees or hills blocking the view. If you have kids of different ages in both sections you should be ok here.
There are six new big-kid swings, a “flying saucer” swing, some balance skateboards, a giant sky wheel, a standup spinner, and another climber by Jambette.
While this one doesn’t have a real theme it’s pretty impressive and will challenge bigger kids. There are monkey bars and rings, a climbing wall, a rope bridge, metal and rope ladders and rungs, through-the-air steps, multiple slides, the Jurassic rope climber, and a vertical spiderweb.
The one complaint I heard about this park is that while everything is new, the old splash pad (more like a fountain) was left as-is. I can’t really complain as I find that Lasalle has some great splash pads already (like L’Aquaciel), but I can see how residents might have been hoping for something more. The water area and two play areas are all fully fenced and gated, but just be aware that there is more than one gate around the perimeter.
We checked out the shuffleboard courts(?) lanes(?), and noted that the small chalet has a sign stating it’s for use by the Club d’âge d’or Sainte-Catherine Labouré only. So I wouldn’t expect to be able to use the bathrooms inside.
All in all we were super thrilled to find some never before seen equipment and just loved poking around and finding all the little surprises on the climbers. Yeah for new parks!
From the Borough of Lasalle webpage:
Play fountains:
NEW: Discover the splash pads at L’Aquaciel‘s playground located near Centre sportif Dollard-St-Laurent. There are 14 parks with play fountains where children can cool off and play in the water: Lawrence, Père-Marquette, Ouellette, Leroux, Hayward, Riverside, Jeannotte, Ménard, Dalmany, J.O.R.-Leduc, Lefebvre, Boivin, J.D.-Ducharme and Cavelier-de-LaSalle.
Schedule of Play fountains : 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
L’Aquaciel : 8 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Admission is free.
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 |