Sandy Beach in Hudson, QC
With a short amount of time left before Summer draws to a close, and school is back in session, we realized we had not yet visited a beach. It was one of the things that had been high on my “Fun Summer Things To Do” list, but time passed far more quickly than I had anticipated.
Luckily, after a busy weekend of getting ready for back to school, we were able to enjoy a Monday at the beach together. Sure, beaches here in Quebec aren’t like the beautiful beaches you can find at the Cape, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have some great gems to enjoy.
My Sister and Brother-in-law posted about their visit to Sandy Beach a few weeks prior to our visit and it looked like an amazing spot. Their three children really enjoyed it, so I thought it would be the perfect place to have Liam’s first beach experience.
The Drive and Arrival
We live in Dorval, QC, which means that the drive to Hudson is only about a 30-40 minute trip. This is great, since long road trips aren’t always the perfect way to spend the day when you have young, restless children. We left our home at around 9:20 A.M, as we wanted to get home in the early afternoon.
Our eldest only asked if we were there yet about halfway into the ride, which isn’t that bad. He asked if we were really close when we were about two minutes away; it was nice to have an answer that got the response of “Yay!”.
We parked, got our items together and began the 10-15 minute walk to the beach. At the very start of the walk you see a beautiful gate. Even though the trail goes around it, so it wasn’t being used, it was still a detail I enjoyed.
The trail to the beach is quite clean, and you are sheltered from the sun by trees the entire time. It’s a beautiful and relatively short walk. However, if you have younger kids, I would recommend bringing a wagon. Our toddler kept wanting to stop to look at every single pebble, and our items got a bit heavy to carry after awhile.
Our Time at the Beach
When we arrived at the beach, there were only two other adults and one toddler at the opposite end; we had the beach to ourselves. This is partially the reason why we wanted to go on a weekday, so we were relieved to see our plan had worked in our favor. The beach is bigger than I had pictured, and we had a lot of space to get settled.
My toddler ran to the water right away, and was greeted by several ducks. Being a huge animal fan, he loved seeing them in person for the first time, and he was captivated by hearing them quack.
The area is quite clean, however I did pick up some leftovers from other visitors, such as cigarette butts and water bottles. I kept them in an extra bag we had to dispose of properly later on. I grew up being taught to leave wherever you visit cleaner than when you arrived, so I wanted to show my kids to do the same.
Related: Take 3 For The Sea – I love this initiative!
The water was surprisingly warm, and it felt amazing to be out of the city. The kids had fun splashing in the water, and trying to catch minnows with their buckets.
While they were unsuccessful, it helped them find numerous mussel shells and we had a whole collection of them by the time we left. The kids enjoyed covering Daddy with sand, and then getting covered themselves. Needless to say, we were full of sand by the time we left.
We enjoyed our lunch, and the ducks were almost sitting on our laps as we ate. It’s clear they know it’s a good feeding ground. The sand is surrounded by trees, but they don’t offer an incredible amount of shade. Bring an umbrella or tent to sit under if you plan on staying for a long period of time.
We went back in the water, and I walked with my toddler in my arms into the deeper water. My stepson wanted to see if we could find fish further out, so we went on a search. There are no lifeguards, so be sure to keep an eye on your kids, as the water does get deep.
A couple of hours into our visit, we went for a small walk down to the other side of the beach. At this point, there were quite a few more beach-goers sharing the beach with us. It was not packed in the slightest, but it was still early on in the day. We saw an area with porta-potties, and picnic benches; they really have everything you need for a simple day at the beach.
I had been told that Sandy Beach is quite a popular beach for people to bring their dogs. The entire time we were there, we saw about 4 or 5 dogs in total (off leash and chasing balls into the water), but I am sure more would come as the day progressed. I later found an article stating that dogs are now banned after an attack in July. However, a more recent article states that the town council voted to allow the dogs to return to the beach. From 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m. from May 1 to October 1, dogs are allowed on the beach. As mentioned above, there are no lifeguards or security, so it seems hard to keep this bylaw enforced.
The Trip Home
At around noon, we began to pack up our items. Our toddler had a bit of a meltdown as it was nap time. He also got bit by something on his neck which he was not happy about. It was an unfortunate end to the trip, but it had been a great morning nonetheless.
We got in the car, and within minutes, both kids were asleep. My toddler continued to sleep for another 2-3 hours once we got home; he was tired from all of the excitement!
Overall, an amazing beach day, and I am sure we will go back to Sandy Beach in the future. There are several other well-known beaches in the area, such as Oka Beach so there are other options too.
Have you been to Sandy Beach? What other beaches in Montreal and surrounding areas do you enjoy?