34 bca a .com spring 2015 (top to bottom) courtesy Parks Québec, Parc Exalto, Tourism montreal
excursion along La Rivière Sautauriski.
Both journeys depart from the park's
Discovery and Visitors Centre. Hiking
and cycling are just two of a myriad of
activities available within the park, but
you can also choose to sit back, relax
and enjoy moose sightings, scores
of bird species, and colourful
springtime blooms.
seek oUt tHrills
Leave it to Montréal, where Cirque
du Soleil altered the very concept
of the circus, to erect Parc Exalto
(parcolympique.qc.ca/en/
activities/parc-exalto), the first
urban acrobatic park in North
America, recently opened at
Olympic Park. Choose from
advanced, intermediate and junior
challenges. Daredevils ascend
three storeys (nine metres) while
maneuvering past 22 well-placed
obstacles, while the more cautious
climb three metres past 10
impediments. Youngsters get to
remain on terra firma but still must
negotiate 14 unique tasks from net
walking to navigating a swiveling/
swerving boardwalk. If all that
activity's still not enough, Exalto
also offers soccer, mini-golf and
an acro-bungee trampoline.
voyage tHe st. laWrenCe
The mighty St. Lawrence River originates
in northern Minnesota, fills the Great
Lakes and eventually drains into the
Gulf of St. Lawrence in Eastern Quebec.
The St. Lawrence also provides scores
of recreational options along the shores
of Montréal, including rafting or jet
boating the 4.8-km Lachine Rapids on
an excursion with Saute Jet-Boating
(jetboatingmontreal.com). These rapids
are so fierce, shipments had to be portaged
until Lachine Canal was constructed in
1825. The consistent whitewater also gives
rise to a standing wave, inviting surfers
from around the world to take to the
water behind the city's architectural
landmark, Habitat 67.
destinations québec
savour the views from Jacques
cartier national park; (below)
play daredevil at parc exalto;
(bottom) jet-boat the Lachine
rapids in Montréal.
