It's also Laval

It may seem paradoxical for a family who chooses to vacation in Laval, but we're completely crazy about the outdoors. We've visited all the national parks that are accessible to us or that have crossed our path, and even though our children are still young, we climb mountains, canoe, ride, hike, camp, observe nature - in short, we're often in the forest.

And we must humbly confess that we've rarely seen as many wild animals in one day as we did today.

The day hadn't even officially begun when - you won't believe this, but we swear it's true - through the window of the Holiday Inn's pool (even though it's right in the middle of town), we saw a wild turkey!

Ask the kids, they'll tell you! We couldn't believe our eyes.

The tone for the day was set!

Arriving at the Park, we chose lunch at the new Café de l'Archipel, serving energizing lunch bowls, gourmet sandwiches and decadent pastries from Copper Branch and Café de la Concorde. Soft drinks, coffees and refreshers are also served.

Then it was off for a day of canoeing on the Rivière-des-Mille-Îles. With three kids, the canoe is our preferred means of self-propelled water transport. We've tried rowboats and pedal-boats in the past without much pleasure, and we wouldn't go very far crammed into kayaks. In short, the canoe glides over the water without much effort, so you can take a long walk on the river without getting too exhausted. And for the kids, the space inside is big enough for them to change position every 3 seconds (as they're wont to do) without getting too hung up on each other.

The Rivière-des-Mille-Îles is the perfect river for an expedition lasting just a few hours. As soon as you cross the bridge over Autoroute 15, you arrive on a series of wild islands, some of which you can picnic on. You quickly forget you're in the city and discover the peacefulness of the area, where geese, wood ducks, mallards, herons, kingfishers and a multitude of bird species we couldn't identify wade and twirl around. We were also impressed by the work of the beavers.

But the highlight of our visit was the impressive number of turtles we came across. Along Île Desroches, on practically every rock or piece of wood emerging from the water, there was a turtle basking in the sun, one of which we let ourselves get close to, much to the delight of the children!

If you decide to go down to an island for a picnic, as we did, beware of poison ivy, as the sides of the path are covered with it. It was a perfect opportunity for us to teach the kids to identify it. And if you go to Parc de la Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, take time to visit the Interpretation Center! You'll find beautiful models and even live specimens of "real, real" turtles!

#lavalcmaintenant #Parcdelarivieredesmilleiles