In the beginning of modern Quebec history, the territory of La Prairie would be visited on numerous occasions by Iroquois and English settlers from New York, among others at the time of the Anglo-Iroquois expedition of Pieter Schuyler in 1691, who commanded two battles on August 11, 1691.

Historically, the city has been an important transportation hub, as it was the point of transfer between Montreal ferries and the land route to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, gateway to Lake Champlain and the Hudson River.

Like the rest of southwestern Quebec, La Prairie has hot summers and cold winters, for a generally temperate climate.

Winters are cold and sometimes long (snow is usually present from mid-November to mid-April), with temperatures occasionally dipping below -30 °C, not counting the windchill.

The park would include Smithers' swamp, as well as, Hydro-Quebec's servitude area in which the western chorus frog, a vulnerable species in Quebec, is found in greatest numbers.

There is a controversy involving the city housing development in that area which was supposed to be conserved integrally with high priority according to RCM of Roussillon 1990s' maps.