Since summer stayed a bit longer in town despite the fact we are already mid-September, we decided to go hiking this last Sunday. We were planning to have a picnic since July but somehow it did not happened so far. This Sunday seemed the best day to do it. It was hot, sunny and one of the few days left before school.
Although we have been on the mountain so many time before, there were a few trails which we never took. We tried to stay away from the main paths and took the smaller ones. It sort of made us feel that we were further away from the city.
On one of the paths we saw these gorgeous velvety mushrooms growing on the tree stump. They looked really pretty! We were lucky to also see some beautiful birds, some woodpeckers, hermit thrushes and a hawk. All these in a little forest in the middle of the city!
In fact, is not that little because Mont-Royal park rests on a surface of 10 square kilometres. The hill has three peaks with different elevations: Mont-Royal or the Cross Hill at 233 m (764 ft), Mount Murray or Outremont Hill at 211 m (692 ft) and Westmount Summit at 201 m (659 ft).
While we were somewhere between the Olmsted trail and the Mont-Royal Park Loop, our way to the top of Mont -Royal, we stumbled upon this view over the city.
A few minutes later we found ourselves in front of the Mont-Royal Cross, the first peak we reached that day.
Since my son asked who was Frederick Olmsted, I had to google him up. Thus I had the pleasure to discover that he was the same landscape architect who designed Central Park in New York city.
We spent a few good hours walking around the mountain. I think we did about 8 kilometres, which is not bad at all!
After our picnic we stopped at the Chalet and had a good ice cream while enjoying the stunning views.
As you can see in the photos, we weren't the only ones who decided to go there. This place is always crowded disregarding the season.
The Esplanade offers some incredible views over the downtown and Saint-Laurent river. You can even see in the mountains in the distance.
Can you spot Leonard Cohen's mural in the photo above? If not, look again at the slightly right to the centre of the photo and you will notice it. It was realized on one of the tall buildings of the Plateau and inaugurated on the 1st anniversary of his death.
In the above photo you can see the model of the Mont-Royal park showing all the existing trails and paths.
Beaver's Lake and the playground next to it were our last stops in the park.
A lot of people were laying on the grass, tanning while reading a book or having a drink. The playground was nice and I think it was recently done. Most of the structures looked new and kids were having a blast. We had a great time outdoors, a sublime Sunday indeed!
