Eastern Canada trip with 3 kids -- advice/itinerary needed
 

We used to travel a lot before we had kids, and now that we have 3 of them! we are looking to get things going again. Can't go too far and extravagant yet so thought about eastern canada. We live in NYC so wanted something more relaxed and easy too. Really looking at what might be best while our kids are 7, 6, and 2. Can't be too hard of a trip, not TOO much driving, and while my kids love nature, animals, hiking, and sightseeing, we want to be sure to balance it with free time, playgrounds, and ice cream:)

Have no idea where to begin.

Any advice, itineraries, accommodation recommendations would be amazing.

We will probably have 10 days and we are thinking to do this in August.

Toronto has world class zoo and aquarium, Canada Wonderland, Waterfront, ferries and activities. It's a great walking city with festivals all Summer...

You could drive up through Niagara Falls where there is a Great Wolf Lodge... plenty of natural beauty and lots of kiddie attractions...

You could look into the Eastern Townships, a mostly rural area east of Montreal. It's a mixture of farms, vineyards, lakes and mountains. The city of Granby has a large zoo, and is a road biking mecca. Close by is the resort town of Bromont with hiking & biking trails. Magog is another pleasant resort town on a beautiful lake with a swimming beach.Montreal is close enough so you could do a night or two there. Montreal has lots of kid friendly attractions - an amusement park, Biodome, Insectarium, boat rides, etc.

It is about a 7 hour drive from NYC to The Island of Montreal.

My suggestion would be to stay in the western part of the Island, generally known as the West Island ( Baie d'Urfe Marriott)for three or four nights.

There is lots for young children to enjoy in the area;
Ecomuseum, Quinn Farm on Ile Perrot, Morgan Arbretum, Lachine Fur Museum, Ste Anne de Bellevue locks and canal.

Lots of parks and playgrounds in the area, Centennial Hall in Beaconsfield has concerts and activites every week in the summer.

In August the ice cream place on Cartier Blvd in Pointe Claire Village is packed, after you can walk to the waterfront and watch the sailboats on Lake St-Louis.

Babar Bookstore (Livres Babar) in Pointe-Claire is THE store for children"s books in the entire Montreal area.

Still in Pointe-Claire Village drop in at the LePanier for some tasty treats.

From the West Island, Ottawa's museums are a two hour drive, Cornwall and Upper Canada Village about an hour, so is Long Sault Parkway, Hudson (Finnigans Market) is 30 minutes away. You can take the ferry from Hudson to Oka and drop in at the Abbey Store and pick up some cheese and other goodies for a picnic at Oka Park.

If you choose to spend a night or two at Ottawa, Sheraton Gatineau is a good hotel in a great location.

On the way back to NYC spend some time in the Burlington (VT) area, Shelbourne Museum is a lot of fun and your children would probably enjoy a Ben&Jerry's factory tour.

Mark