Parc-nature Cap St-Jacques
The City of Montreal offers free kayak outings every summer and Cap St-Jacques is always on the list. I went last weekend and it was a blast! My first sea kayak outing with waves, which got us drenched in water.
If you miss out on the free dates, I still recommend planning a very affordable outing by riding with Navette Nature. It’s a school bus service that leaves from downtown Montreal weekly and is paid for by the city, as long as you visit one of the three city parks (not Sépaq). Make sure to book from the French website, they forgot to publish the dates on the English side.
Cap St-Jacques is a beautiful park that gives you the chance to go for a hike, visit a farm (and buy their produce!), and swim at the beach. The only thing you’d have to pay for would be the SUP or kayak rental.
You can also drive there. All-day parking will cost you under $10, which is a much better deal than their 2-hour rate. Pay at the front entrance, the beach machines were broken the last time I checked.
Parc-nature de la Pointe-Nord (Nun’s Island)
I noticed that Espace NAVI offers a bunch of fun activities that are way less expensive than what we can find in Old Montreal (go figure!).
They offer a fireworks night guided kayak tour on Wednesdays and Saturdays for $59, and I definitely want to do that now!
Îles-de-Boucherville
If you’re looking for a reason to finally try the ferry services leaving from Old Port (or didn’t know we had those now), here’s your chance!
For $16.25, you get a roundtrip ticket that includes the Sépaq entry fees. Bikes are accepted at no extra cost but dogs are not.
You can rent a kayak for $39, which gives you four hours or plenty of time to go around the whole island.
I hope this first post inspires you to get out there and experience the efforts of the city to showcase our beautiful parks, on a boat!
Please let me know if you tried any of these and how your experience was.