Cap-Saint-Jacques Nature Park (french: Parc-nature du Cap-Saint-Jacques) is a large nature park in the

Pierrefonds-Roxboro Pierrefonds-Roxboro is a Boroughs of Montreal, borough of the city of Montreal. It was created January 1, 2006, following the demerger of parts of the city. Geography It is composed of the former municipalities of Pierrefonds, Quebec, Pierrefon ...

borough of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. It is located in the

West Island The West Island () is the unofficial name given to the cities, towns and boroughs at the western end of the Island of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. It is generally considered to consist of the Lakeshore municipalities of Dorval, Pointe-Cla ...

at the junction of the Lake of Two Mountains and the Rivière des Prairies. Situated on a peninsula, three quarters of the park is bordered by water. At , it is the largest park in Montreal. The land for the park was purchased by the City of Montreal on 15 February 1980 from the Congregation des Soeurs des Saints Noms de Jesus et de Marie. The park features a natural sand

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

and an

organic farm Organic farming, also known as ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and re ...

, which raises animals and grows organic produce. Farm activities are offered by the non profit D-Trois-Pierres. The park's bays are home to a variety of animals, including the

map turtle ''Graptemys'' is a genus of freshwater turtles containing 14 species, commonly known as map turtles. Crother, B. I. (editor) (2017). Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments ...

Environmental science Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geograp ...

activities are offered by the Groupe uni des éducateurs-naturalistes et professionnels en environnement (GUEPE). The park includes stands of

silver birch ''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found a ...

and sugar maple, with a

sugar shack A sugar shack (french: cabane à sucre), also known as sap house, sugar house, sugar shanty or sugar cabin is a commercial establishment, primarily found in Eastern Canada and northern New England. Sugar shacks are small cabins or groups of cab ...

where visitors can watch the production of

maple syrup Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple tree ...

, in season. The park has of

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

trails and of trails for cross country skiing. The name "Cap St. Jacques" was written on maps as early as 1744. The land mass south of the (cape) of Cap St. Jacques is the Jacques Cartier electoral district. The French Wikipedia article conjectures the name comes from

Jacques Bizard Jacques Bizard (1642 – December 5, 1692) was seigneur of île Bonaventure, later renamed île-Bizard. Born in Benaix, Neuchâtel to a Calvinist pastor, Bizard served in the Venetian army where he met Louis de Buade, better known as Comte de Fro ...

, but both

Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier ( , also , , ; br, Jakez Karter; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French-Breton maritime explorer for France. Jacques Cartier was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of th ...

and Jacques Bizard have not been named

Saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual res ...

. There is a street named "St. Jacques" in the city of Montreal dated 1672. There is also a land area called the

Saint-Jacques Escarpment The Saint-Jacques Escarpment (french: Falaise Saint-Jacques) is a green space along an escarpment in the city of Montreal, west of downtown Montreal and adjacent to the neighbourhood of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. The wooded area stretches long, cove ...

on the island of Montreal.

Plans

As of 2020, the City of Montreal has a plan to include the park into the future

Grand Parc de L’Ouest Grand Parc de L'Ouest is a planned park along the north shore of the western part of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The plan is to combine the following into one large park: * L'Anse-à-l'Orme Nature Park * Bois-de-l'Île-Bizard Nature Park * Bois-d ...

References

External links

* (Montreal's Nature Parks) {{Park in Quebec Parks in Montreal Beaches of Quebec Regional parks of Canada Pierrefonds-Roxboro