Martineau Park

We visited this park in 2016 and it was in a sad state. Broken equipment, panels installed backwards, and lots of graffiti. LaSalle is really good about updating their parks, so I wasn’t surprised when I read about its upcoming renovation.

We revisited the first week of September in 2017, and everything was JUST about ready. They were putting the finishing touches on the big-kid section, and it was still roped off, so we came back AGAIN (it’s really fun) in 2018 and redid all the pictures. For the third time.
And, eeeeeee! I love themed playgrounds!
We were super excited to see the castle/dragon theme and my little guy twittered with delight as he wandered over and around the large toddler structure. Tessier Récréo-Parc always puts together interesting designs, and here there are gallant knights, brave princesses, medieval flags, bridges to cross, castles to climb, and evil dragons to fight!
I like the toddler play structure a lot because there are easy ways up like the wide stairs, or climb/crawl up the interesting Sensory Wave Climber with its bells and ball activity panels. The Wave Climber is not a slide, it’s not really stairs…it’s whatever you need it to be! 
For older kids they can try the more challenging ladders or climbing wall. My guy did ALL of them. Repeatedly. 
And then “MomEEE! Come under! There are diamonds! 💎💎💎”
Crouch down and you can be a miner, or a king counting his treasures on the little window ledge. We clamoured up to the top again and used the telescope to search for any fire-breathing dragons. His only complaint about the whole park is the telescope is quite high and even at almost 5-years old and quite tall, he had a hard time looking through. His older brother had no problems spying on us 😉
And then, down to the ground to run around the baby swings, back up the chain ladders, and a bounce in one of the two dragon spring riders (SO original!). 

There’s some great recycling going on throughout the park. Saved from the old play structure are the three big panels, which are now placed at ground level and make for some great picture taking opportunities 🙂
You can see them in their previous life here:
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And over in the big-kid section is the easy-to-climb Jambette play structure that has been moved from the nearby completely renovated Marroni Park (visit it too, it’s great!)
You’ll also find a new and super tall castle-themed climber with a great slide and turrets, and even a medieval inspired bridge. So original. My older son loved the TriNet with ropes and vertical chains, and hung out at the top for a while staring at clouds. 
While there is a saucer swing over on this side, there are no adult swings in the park at all. 

Things to note:
-Both play sections are on wood chips, with a small sand pit between the two areas. 
-There is probably limited shade during the day, though there are some giant trees around the play areas.
-There is one picnic table and benches scattered around. 
-The entire park is fully fenced AND gated. Just know that not all the gates actually latch. 
-Street parking is pretty easy, but check the signs.

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