On the last day of a frigid Christmas vacation we were all rather tired of staring at the living room walls, and the boys needed to let out some crazies with some kind of physical activity. Swimming had saved us over the holidays and this brand new sports complex had been on my to-do list since it opened this past year. (You can read about the project and its inauguration HERE.)
So -25 outside seemed a great time to do something INside. Ignoring the grumblings of the boys who wanted to stay under the blankets and watch Netflix, we zipped over to Saint-Laurent (which is always wayyy closer to my house than I think it will be), and were the ONLY people in the recreational pool. Horray!
I mean, not like we don’t like people, but I was able to take a few pictures without looking like a weirdo.
There’s a ton of parking available right in front of the futuristic building (“Uh oh, Mommy! Is it supposed to be leaning?!?”), and buying our tickets inside was straightforward and quick. Dragging our stuff, we found the family changing room straightaway (with stroller parking spaces right outside!) and snagged a couple of spacious lockers (bring a lock with you.)
We’ve seen quite a few locker rooms and this one is immense and impressive. Great, large lockers, and if you take one of the lockers towards the outside of room, most of them are facing FANTASTIC changing rooms complete with a private shower, bench, hooks, and BABY SEATS. Best part? The door goes almost all the way down to the floor so you won’t have escaping children, or curious children peering under the door. (It’s the little things in life…)
Store your stuff, show your receipt to the lifeguards, grab a shower on deck, and dive (but not literally) into the pool!
SO FUN. The gradual beach-entry wading pool/splash pad features great toddler-friendly products from Vortex including gently spraying critters and a lovely ring of “bubblers”. There’s also a super cute rainbow slide, and in the deeper section (with a couple of steps to go down) is the tall and super-fun-to-stand-under Jellyfish Nº1. (Side note: while we were there I asked everyone what they thought the tall creature was, my husband answered “A cross between Mayor McCheese and a jellyfish.” He was half right!)
While we played with everything, both kids LOVED the twirly slide. I was a bit apprehensive about my just-turned 5-year old doing the slide as you’re not allowed in the semi-circle to catch them (I asked the lifeguard), but the water here is not too deep and his head was above water when he stood up. So he twirled down, eased himself off the edge, and then walked over to us.
While I found the water quite warm, the little one’s teeth were chattering after 30 minutes, so the big boys played a bit more while we sat looking out the windows at the poor souls standing on the opposite side.
One thing I forgot to ask is if young kids can use life jackets, or if they have some to borrow. So make sure to call ahead if you need one.
Note that though we wandered around a bit, we only used the recreational pool. You’ll also find soccer fields, and facilities for badminton, basketball, mini tennis, ping-pong, and a 25-metre pool for lap swimming (hence the “multipurpose” building name. Actually, we did end up having a snack in the nice café near the entrance where we got two coffees, a giant chocolatine, muffin, popcorn, and crackers for a respectable $13. They also have pizza slices, bakery items, sandwiches etc.
For schedule and rates, you can find all the info at THIS LINK. The wading pool/splash pad hours are at the top under “Recreational pool”.
As non-residents is cost us $4 per adult and $3 per child. Kids 3 and under are free.