Wilfrid-Bastien Park

Update 2017: As per this article, the rubber base is being replaced by artificial grass.


I drove by this park rather accidentally last year as we were leaving Ferland Park. It doesn’t show up as “green” on Google Maps so I’d overlooked it when casually planning our day’s route. 
It was the toddler who from the back seat said “Mommy. MoMEEEEE!! ROCKET SHIP!!!!” 
Oh ya! I’m a sucker for themed parks, but it was rather late in the season, so I thought about it over the winter (really, I did), with the aim of it being our FIRST park of the 2016 season. Turned out to be park number 25 or so of the spring, but, worth the wait!

Travelling to Saint-Léonard  early on a Saturday morning, we were some of the first at the playground, but it got wayyyyyy busier later in the morning. I’ll suspect it’s very active once it’s warm and the adjoining splash pad in on. 

There’s a large parking lot to the north of Boulevard Lacordaire, and also just to the south of the police station. Toddle down the path and you’ll find the playground. And Mars. Or Jupiter. Or wherever your imagination takes you. 
Tessier Récréo-Parc has created an original and complex playground full of GameTime equipment to climb, and spin, and swing from; all on a colourful rubber base (which needs some repairs). With everything close together it was easy for my boys to play in the two different section. Just be careful as there is minimal fencing. 
The toddler loved having his own “space ship” with its easy-to-climb ladder and wavy slide to clamber up, and peered through the binoculars to the earth below. He climbed over the space pods, up the rock walls and through the rings. I could stand in the middle and watch his brother as he swung from bars, hopped over the moon rocks, spun in the stand-up spinner, and went up and down the slide. 
There’s enough equipment on both sides (the toddler and bigger-kid section) that they’re appealing to all ages. So my 3-year old and my 8-year old were happy in all parts of the playground. We tried out the big and baby swings, and even the adaptive swing. 
While the whole playground surface (and the splash pad) is wheelchair accessible, there isn’t a whole lot to do besides the ground-level gizmos. I’d love to see more accessible activity panels or some musical equipment. 
There was limited shade over most of the play space, but the sails over the (wheelchair accessible) picnic tables gave some respite from the sun. 

The big boys went off the see the skate park, while the little one and I went to see the splash pad. Surrounded by picnic tables and benches, it’s not super close to the play area, but there’s a good sight line. There’s no fencing at all though and it’s open to the rest of the park. While the splash pad was not yet on, the water features from Waterplay Solutions include a space-themed “planet” sprayer, adorable dumping buckets and the interesting I-Spy Storm (or what we call “the tornado”).

Joining up with the others we checked out the lake with its fountains, bridge and ducks. Tried out some of the fitness equipment along the path and clamoured up the art/boulder. Just across Boulevard Robert we saw another small playground (which will be in a separate post).

Walking back to the car, we detoured past the playground and the boys did some more exploring, including trying to climb into the retro metal rocket. But alas, its trapdoor has been welded shut 🙁

By this time we were desperate for a coffee and snack, so after a quick Google search we drove around the corner to Café Milano (5188 Rue Jarry Est) where we feasted on Italian espressos and biscotti. 
And man, were the kids wired after their espresso. 
I kid, I kid. They had an apple juice. 

Things to note:
-The splash pad hours are 9am-8pm.
-We were happy to see that there was a chalet with bathrooms near the water area, BUT, it’s only open during special events. However, they’ve posted a handy-dandy map of where you CAN find bathrooms, and there’s one at the Wilfrid-Bastien Pavilion which is just beside the playground. Phew!

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