GENERAL NOTE FOR ALL BEACHES: For all information, rates (if applicable), reservation details, and more, make sure to visit the official website BEFORE going. Water quality, maximum capacities, and staffing issues change often and may affect openings.
Road trips for our family mean a lot of nausea, loads of moaning and complaining, and tons of stopping for much needed stretching.
And that’s just from me.
A 3-hour road trip to Mont Mégantic in the Eastern Townships filled my pain-riddled back with fear, so before heading out I Google Mapped places near the highway where we could have a pit stop about every 45 minutes.
This was our first break, and at just five minutes from Exit 90 on Highway 10, was a straightforward jaunt with just a couple of turns until we reached the (free) parking lot.
Waterloo Beach is a great place to let the kids run, have a quick swim, run through the lovely splash pad, play in the park, or spread yourself out for a picnic and just enjoy the view.
With clean washrooms, wheelchair accessible tables and a gazebo, it’s nicer than stopping at a highway truck stop where you need to clutch the kiddo’s hands lest they get sideswiped by a caravan of RVs.
If you want to hang out here a bit longer, you can also rent a single kayak, double kayak, paddle board or pedal boat.
The beach isn’t exactly large, in fact there isn’t even room to build a sand castle or spread out a towel. Looking at old pictures I found on Google, it seems like a lot of the sand has been washed away, or else the water level was quite high when we visited. but the water was lovely!
You can find all the beach and splash pad info AT THIS LINK, as well as details on the watercraft rental prices.
Things to note (2019):
-Access to the beach and park is FREE.
-The beach is not supervised.
-Dogs are prohibited (even on a leash.)
–Opening hours of the beach: 7am to 9pm
–Splash pad hours: 10am to 8pm.
Touch the sensor on the post to start the water sequence. Open from mid-June to the Labour Day, but may vary according to weather.