Parks, Trails & Outdoor Recreation

The City maintains more than 50 parks and green spaces, most with benches and picnic tables, several with play structures, splash pads, and sports fields. A Parks and Green Spaces Master Plan guides the City's investment in this network.

For the exact location, amenities, and district of a specific park, the City's interactive map is the most reliable source - precise addresses for several parks aren't published on the official pages themselves.

The bike-path network reaches 63.7 km, fully paved and open to walkers, joggers, and inline skaters, not just cyclists. An interactive map and a PDF map are available on the City's site.

Additions in progress or planned include a new off-road multi-use link on rue Émile-Bouchard, a second phase on rue Valois, and a pedestrian/cyclist overpass across Highway 30, funded by a provincial active-transportation grant.

The City makes no mention of an official connection to the provincial Route Verte network on its cycling page - don't assume a direct connection without checking.

The city's largest nature park (196,396 m², the former Harwood Golf Club site, 3900 route Harwood), open 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. It has a disc golf course, a fenced 7,125 m² off-leash dog area in the park's western portion (leashed dogs are only allowed on the marked walking trail), and a welcome pavilion with washrooms.

In winter: fat-bike, cross-country ski, and snowshoe trails, plus a natural sledding hill at the entrance. Free equipment loans for residents (skis, snowshoes, poles, crampons, tubes, fat bikes); non-residents pay $10/hour for a fat bike or ski, $3/hour for snowshoes.

A four-season park at 331 avenue Saint-Charles, on Vaudreuil Bay. In winter: an ice ring, skating surfaces on the bay, a sledding hill (lit until 9 p.m. from mid-January), a walking/snowshoe trail, and a chalet with washrooms and equipment rental. Skates and snowshoes are loaned free to residents (one hour, proof of residency required), along with snowboards, snow scooters, tubes, and helmets.

In summer: canoe, kayak, paddleboard, and pedal-boat rentals on-site. Resident rates (tax included): $12.50/hour for a single-occupancy craft, $22.50/hour for a double (higher rates for non-residents and half-day rentals).

Several neighbourhood parks have their own sports fields: Parc Trudeau (natural-grass soccer field), Parc Bel-Air (baseball/softball field, plus a splash pad), and Parc Dorion-Gardens (baseball/softball, dek hockey, and a natural-grass soccer field).

Parc Paul-Gérin-Lajoie has a volleyball court and training/skateboarding modules; it's also where the City's Fête nationale (Saint-Jean-Baptiste) fireworks show is held, facing the Cité-des-Jeunes campus.

Parc Lorne-Worsley (see also Off-leash dog parks and Community gardens below) also has a soccer field, and a collective orchard is currently being planted there (25 fruit trees, 90 shrubs, and 200 herbaceous plants planned in total).

Exact addresses for these parks aren't published on the City's official pages - use the interactive map to locate them.

Beyond the boat rentals at Maison-Valois, the City lists public water-access points at Parc Le 405, Maison Félix-Leclerc, Parc Esther-Blondin (which also has a boat launch, discounted with the citizen card), and Île-aux-Tourtes.

No public beach or municipal marina was found on the City's official pages - don't assume one exists.

Five off-leash dog areas are spread across the city: Marier-Merisiers, du Ruisselet, Lorne-Worsley, montée Cadieux, and Parc-nature Harwood (see above for details on the latter, the only one for which the City states hours and fencing on its official pages).

Hours and fenced/unfenced status for the other four dog parks weren't confirmed on an official City page during this research - check on-site or with the Recreation Service before visiting.

The City operates 16 outdoor skating rinks spread across every district, some lit, in addition to the sledding hills at Maison-Valois and Parc-nature Harwood. Open/closed status is updated in real time on the City's site and in the Espace citoyen app rather than on a static page - check those directly before heading out.

Two outdoor pools: Piscine Saint-Jean-Baptiste (150 avenue de la Fabrique - 25 m basin, 6 lanes, slide, diving board, wading pool, accessible ramp) and Piscine Sainte-Madeleine (14 rue Sainte-Madeleine - 25 m basin, 5 lanes, slide). Approximate season: June 27 to August 31, free admission, priority for citizen-card holders, mandatory swim cap (sold on-site).

Twelve splash pads run from June to late September, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.: parcs du 150e, de Bel-Air, Briand, de la Canardière, de Champagne, Jean-Jacques-Bertrand, Mozart, des Narcisses, de Sainte-Trinité, des Tilleuls, Bourget, and parc-école des Quatre-Saisons.

Five community gardens: Jardin des Abbesses (Pie-XII green space), Jardin Bourget (Îlot Bourget), Jardin Lorne-Worsley (Parc Lorne-Worsley), Jardin des Loisirs (Parc de Sainte-Trinité), and Jardin des Muguets (Muguets green space).

Registration runs February 1 to March 1 each year, open to residents 18+ with proof of residency, one plot per civic address. Returning gardeners from the previous year get priority; the rest goes on a waitlist. The official page doesn't state whether there's a registration fee.

The City's interactive map lets you filter by facility type (green spaces, playgrounds, sledding, skating rinks, sports fields, splash pads, water access, dog areas, boat rentals, skateboarding, pools, gardens) and by district. The Espace citoyen app shows in real time whether skating rinks, sledding hills, and Parc-nature Harwood's trails are usable.