Two weekends ago, I had the chance of going on yet another day trip with the help of Navette Nature. This time, I purchased a ticket for the Discovering the West of Montreal outing in collaboration with the City of Montreal. I was excited to see this park, knowing that it will be part of the future Grand Parc de l’Ouest, an urban park that will be eight times bigger than New York’s Central Park. #govalerieplante
The bus actually offered three stops: Ste-Anne-De-Bellevue, Écomuseum & Cap-Saint-Jacques. After reviewing the map of the park though, I felt like six hours in the same location wouldn’t feel like too much.
Starting at the Visitor Centre, I walked the Red Rabbit trail north which gave me a chance to be close to the water. It’s a very easy trail and I passed a lot of families on it. There are also a few places to park within the park for groups that want to picnic together.
I didn’t see many animals around me but I did pass lots of happy Monarch butterflies.
Midway, I visited the ecological farm of the park which had a few animals, an outdoor library and a general store. The general store was lovely, selling produce from the land and also a few frozen goodies including an organic strawberry & rhubarb pie I picked up and enjoyed later in the afternoon.
After the farm, I got off the trail to visit the beach for a few hours. For the price of $5, I was able to lie down in a beautiful & calm area. It was pretty cold out but I pushed myself to get in the water once and enjoyed a hot coffee right after from the food truck on-site.
I’ve been curious about this beach for years and I will definitely be back. I’m kind of glad I didn’t snap a picture of it to keep a little bit of mystery around it ;) It’s not a place that has waves but KSF rents paddle boards & kayaks which are perfect for this type of water.
From there, the hike back to the welcome centre took about 30 minutes.
See you next summer Cap-Saint-Jacques!