Chérot Paris Playground
Introduction to the Chérot Paris Playground
There's a 25-foot Eiffel Tower in St. Albert, and it lights up. That's the short version — and it's enough to get most families in the car. The longer version is that Chérot's Paris Playground is one of the few themed playgrounds in the region where the theme isn't a coat of paint. You cross a love-lock bridge modelled on the Pont des Arts, complete with cutouts and locks in the panels. Lanterns stand on the posts like Parisian streetlights. Then you climb the tower.
Because the tower is lit, this one holds up in the dark — which in an Edmonton-area winter means it's still a destination at 5pm in January, when most playgrounds have gone invisible. It's built for ages 18 months to 12, with climbers and slides pitched at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels, so a mixed-age crew can spread out instead of queuing for the same piece.
The park it sits in is Chelles Park, in a community named for Emile and Célestine Chérot — a couple married in France in 1909 who came to Canada two years later and eventually farmed market vegetables on the green belt between St. Albert and Edmonton. The French theme isn't imported. It's local history.
Playground Features
A 25-foot replica Eiffel Tower — lit up, and climbable
Love-lock bridge inspired by the Pont des Arts, with locks and cutout panels
Lanterns mounted on the playground posts, carrying the Parisian streetlight theme
Multiple climbers and slides, set at beginner, intermediate and advanced difficulty
Electronic memory game (the Simon-style light-and-sound kind)
Swings
Accessible elements throughout, including braille markers
Practical Info for Visiting
Designed for ages 18 months to 12 years
The tower is illuminated — this is a rare Edmonton-area playground that works after dark, and a genuinely good winter-evening option
Braille markers and accessible features are built in, though it isn't a fully inclusive playground in the Clareview sense
Chérot is a new, still-building community — expect young trees and limited shade
Located in Chelles Park, off Ray Gibbon Drive in northwest St. Albert
Easy to pair with other St. Albert playgrounds for a crawl
If you like this Playground, you'll like
The imaginative, story-driven design at Blatchford Tomato Playground
The treehouse theme at Wild Rose Elementary School, also in St. Albert
The natural, toddler-scaled play at Rondeau Park in St. Albert
Related
Visit the Edmonton Playground Map to find the Best Edmonton Playgrounds