METROPOLITAN PARKS
Mount Royal
Parc Jean-Drapeau
Parc linéaire du complexe environnemental Saint-Michel
Parc René-Lévesque
LARGE URBAN PARKS
Angrignon Park
Lafontaine Park
Maisonneuve Park
Jarry Park
Promenade Bellerive
Parc des Rapides
NATURE PARKS
Île-de-la-Visitation
Bois-de-Liesse
Pointe-aux-Prairies
Bois de l’Île Bizard
Cap Saint-Jacques
Anse-à-l’Orme
OTHER NEARBY PARKS
Îles de Boucherville
Oka Park
PARK-LIKE SPOTS
Morgan Arboretum
Botanical Garden
Montreal has many delightful parks of varying character, and every neighbourhood has its favourite summer refuges, its picnic spots, its oases of green in the urban fabric.
But Montreal is also a large island among an archipelago of other islands. Its waterfront affords numerous park settings and some of the smaller islands have parks or are parks in their entirety.
In addition to the major city parks, there are nature parks which preserve waterfront, marsh, meadow and forest ecosystems so that animals and birds are afforded some sanctuary in the urban area. From the smallest, Île-de-la-Visitation, to the considerable expanse of Cap Saint-Jacques, all can provide a refreshing change of scene from the city in a matter of minutes.
Each of the parks listed at left - using the city’s own categorization in most cases - has its own charms and its own features, some have particular means of access and some have seasonal events and attractions. Most also have a whole different life and importance in wintertime.
This file, an ongoing project, will illustrate and describe the features of each of the major parks to begin with. Eventually I hope it will evolve into a catalogue of all the green spaces in the metropolitan area.
Notes: I’m using the slightly skewed Montreal convention for geographical directions, something that can puzzle visitors. The street grid is laid out relative to the St. Lawrence River waterfront so Montreal “north” is actually northwest, or close to it. As you go north, address numbers increment; as you go west or east from Saint-Laurent Boulevard, addresses increment.
1 hectare = 2.471 acres.
Text and photos: Kate McDonnell, except where otherwise noted