What a gem! Chessie's Big Backyard is such a great spot for kids (and grown-ups who like a good walk). The walking trails were really nice--well maintained with peaceful forest views. Perfect for a stroller, and some nature scavenger hunts. The playground itself is huge and looked really well cared for. The toddler area was unfortunately closed during our visit, but the rest of the space more than made up for it. There are tons of benches and seating all around, and you can see most of the playground from just about anywhere, which is so helpful when you're keeping an eye on kiddos. There's a massive covered pavilion area that would be perfect for group meetups or a picnic in the shade. And while it was still closed for the season, the splash pad/water park area looked like fun! Definitely planning to come back in the summer to check it out! Such a great spot to have in the area! read more

Chessie's Big Backyard - Forest views on Chessie's trail - Playgrounds Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Would definitely come here again didn't know that it was a park with a waterpark next to it just for small kids nothing major nothing big but it's still amazing. Granddaughter had a blast. read more

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This is a great public park through the city of Fairfax that offers a large playground for kids of all ages, and nature trail, a carousel, gazebos for parties, green spaces and a stage for events, and a splash park. I've been here twice and it was a good experience both times. It's amazing that this is completely free! There is so much to do and you can spend hours here. It gets crowded on holidays and days with good weather on the weekends, but we have never had an issue finding parking. We would love to come here more in the future and recommend it to all! read more

Fun place for kiddos. Park and adjacent water park ( I think pool also ) . Not sure on hours yet. Also has a trail and a community center with a pool just a short walk across the way. read more

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Absolutely love this place!!! Stopped by to check it out on a day trip and will definitely be back again. The kids enjoyed both parts of the playground and splash park. Upon arrival to the splash park you are greeted at the gate and explained the rules of no climbing or running and must have shoes on the whole time. I recommend the kids wear water shoes or crocs. They have shaded areas to sit but are quickly taken. They also have benches but in direct Sun. Either way, we sat in both areas. They have about 3-4 bathrooms in the splash park and more in the playground area. They all come with a sink and diaper changing areas for kids. Bathrooms are spacious to change in and pretty clean for the most part. Everything is feee except the $3 carousel ride and the $3 icecream they sell by the splash park. No outside food or drinks at the splash park except bottled water. read more

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Such a fun park! There's a merry-go-round, a giant water splash park, a shirt nature trail and multiple playground climbing structures. Also fun for a birthday party or just to spend an hour or two. Just don't go to the waterpark on the first day of summer, the lines can be outrageous. read more

Playground are covered, splash pad is amazing! All free to visit. There's even a snack bar!

Cheesie's Big Backyard seems like a family dream. There's a splash park (closed during the pandemic), two playgrounds, trails, a "treehouse," a carousel and an amphitheater. On a cooler day, it is a dream. Kids love it and parents love that they love it. However, on a hot sunny day playing at the playground can be torture. There's no shade over the playground making every slide very hot and unusable. Because of this, our trip was cut short. read more

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Great fun! My 4 year old had a great time in the sprinklers. It gets really hot and there is limited seating so make sure to have sunscreen on hand. There is a bathroom available which is appreciated! read more

Great place for children's summer birthday party. Gets pretty busy though. Also a carousel and playscape on the grounds.

My 6-year-old's favorite spot in Alexandria! She describes the playground and walking "trail" (it's all paved so not technically a trail) as "the best play set ever" and "super good," respectively. The nature walk is incredibly well-designed with faux animals to seek and find and thoughtfully-placed sensory-stimulating musical "instruments" evenly spaced throughout. Looking forward to trying the splash pad in summer but so far, each visit here has been a hit! read more

This is great place to enjoy with the kids, the playground is great very large plenty to do. The park also has a wooden art area that are great to see with family. Park has area to walk and enjoy the tree and animals. There's no fee to used the park or playground, Park has summer flash area during the summer. read more

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came here on a whim just needing to kill time and its now my go to spot if we wanna get out the house and get vitamin d and get a lil wet to cool down from the sun. i like the fact that its a duo wet water play and dry water play! then theres a little trail so explore as well! the property has always been clean while we visited and its freeee cant beat that! read more

This playground is one of our go-to spots when we are out and about in the area. Pros: It's a great spot for older kiddos! There are a lot climbing options. The walking path located next to the playground is nice as well and there are some interactive components that keep the kids interest. Equipment is engaging and well maintained. Cons: While there are play sets meant for younger kiddos, it can be hard to keep up with them if they venture over the older side (hard for adults to go under some of the equipment). No swings here so if your kids love to swing, keep that in mind. The carousel has never been open for any of our visits. Like most places these days there is a mix of helicopter parents who are hovering over their kids every move (and getting in the way of kids trying to play) and parents hanging on benches attached to their phones while their kids run amok. Not much of a problem with the older kids but watch out for your little ones. Side note: Visit Grounded Coffee/Cafe before or after for a snack. read more

This place is just incredible for my toddler. We can spend hours there between both parks and the trail (which is fun & interactive). And in the summer, even more time when the water park is open. I've been a few times and honestly have no complaints! read more

Great place to bring the kids. Age appropriate play areas, carousel, water play area, picnic tables and walking paths. read more

Chessie's Big Backyard - Carousel - Playgrounds Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Amazing park and playground! Has also a trail with musical instruments for the little ones to play along the way, and also an animal treasure hunt. It's fun, usually clean, and if you go early in the day it's usually not crowded. read more

This is a great place. It's free and it has a play area connected and picnic tables to eat at. You can bring your own food and drink. They do sell water and ice cream. You have to leave the splash pad to eat. You can drink water while in the splash pad . They ask you to wear water shoes. It does get filled quick so come when they open or after lunch. Several places to sit in the sidelines and you don't get wet. There isn't any benches around play area. You have to sit on the cement around the toddler area. There are bathrooms in the splash pad. Fun place to cool off read more

Chessie's Big Backyard - Splash pad - Playgrounds Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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For the price of free, Chessie's Big Backyard is entertainment central for the kiddie set. From the giant splash pad to the multiple playground, it's pretty much a wonderland for anyone who considers the Paw Patrol their heroes. This park is very popular with locals which means you can hardly turn a corner without hitting a soft spot. My daughter found the whole thing rather overwhelming but absolutely fell in love with their less advertised, children's walking trail located right behind the complex. The trail was built with children in mind and takes you through a curved pathway through the woods. Look high and look low, there's nature in every corner as well as hidden surprises like interactive music installations, tree stump bench, and carvings of animals in the wild. My 20-month old daughter absolutely hates walking and insisted on being carried when she started the hike. She was so enthralled by all of the new surprises that she was soon leading our entire pack of hikers through the woods. What a perfect way to spend an afternoon! read more

Beautiful well maintained playground with lots of play equipment for the kids to choose from. My favorite part is the all of the well shaded seating for parents! This playground is on a larger sports complex with another smaller playground, both are great, but this one is my new favorite. read more

Chessie's Big Backyard - Playground - Playgrounds Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

This is a cute park for all ages. No swings ... if that's what you are looking for. Our 4 year old loved it. The carousel nor splash pad were open. We will definitely be back. read more

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This is one of my favorite playgrounds to take my kids to. They have a variety of different things to do. They have a pretty big playground for the big kids and the little ones. They have a nature trail where there's different things for the kids to play with like make music. They have a carousel (I think open during weekends only) and a splash park area that is opened during the summer only. There are lots of picnic tables to sit at and relatively clean bathrooms. Also, there's a good amount of free parking as well. We definitely enjoy visiting. read more

It's fun for all ages. It has an interactive walking trail, large playgrounds for multiple ages and is next to a splash pad. What more could you ask for? We go frequently and picnic on the grass under the trees. read more

This park is amazing and I'm so glad it's right in my neighborhood. The playground is like a little village with many different obstacles to keep the kids busy. The park is clean and well attended for. Even on a mildly cool winter rainy winter day the park is still filled with kids. read more

Chessie's Big Backyard - Playground - Playgrounds Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Grandkids loved it! Only problem the season is too short. Opening Memorial Day and closing dat after Labor Day. It's warm in late April till end of September. read more

Chessie's is an absolute hidden gem. I'm shocked that I didn't know about this amazing playground despite living in the surrounding area. The grounds are the soft impact-friendly material, so no wood chips or sand worries. They have play areas, one designed for toddlers, and another for 5-12 year olds. However, there were plenty of toddlers that were able to handle maneuvering the playground with older children. The woodland creature and pirate themes are absolutely creative - a nice change from typical playgrounds. Even with sun blasting overhead, they have installed coverage over the toddler play area. The beautiful classic carousel charges $3/child (no age differentiator). On the weekends, it runs every half hour. You buy your ticket by the central building from a staff member. Don't forget about the fantastic (and FREE!) splash pad adjacent to the playground. (I'll post a separate review for that one.) Plenty of bathrooms, and plenty of parking. When you want to unwind, the short nature trail is simply magical. We walked the trail and played with the percussion instruments (wind chimes!) and enjoyed patting the woodland creature statues stationed along the trail. There is also a beautiful trail-like tree house that overlooks the trail itself. It was a fantastic end to our visit to Chessie's, being able to detach from the chaos of the play areas and re-center ourselves on the nature trail. read more

I was in the area vacuated from home. Trying to absorb the last bit of Sun outdoors with my little ones or at least what was available to us before the Hurricane arrived, I found this Gem of spark right here on yelp and it definitely did not let me down the kids had a blast playing pirate, Taking a walk and climbing the many various playground areas. There is also a pool here so I will be back during the summer. read more

A cool park with lots for the kids to do. We loved the interactive walking trail with "clues" to spot. The playground was nice but crowded. But the many special touches throughout are what makes this place special read more

I love this playground. It's a big playground filled with so many different activities for the kids. They have a carousel and splash pad as well. They get pretty crowded so I would advise going when there is not a rush. A lot of people come out and it can be overwhelming. I like the different areas of the playground and actually pretty fun for adults too! read more

The staff was kind and helpful and the splash pad was so much fun. The adjacent park was equally as entertaining and the nature walk was the perfect distance for my 3 kiddos ages 2, 5 and 7. read more

This place is absolutely wonderful! It has a picnic area, hiking area and splash park. And its all free! Get there early if you want to use the splash park though - it fills up fast. read more

Wish this place was closer to me... it has a great play structure for the 5-12 yr olds. My kids loved climbing the lochness monster. The floor was the nice spongy material that I prefer instead of mulch. There is a hiking trail that is stroller friendly. Carousel was $3. Really busy on a Saturday with lots of bday parties. read more

What a good find!! I've had this on my list of parks to visit and we were finally able to make our way over. This was such a great day for us. My active two year old had fun at the playground area. There are several areas for every age group which keeps the kiddos entertained for a while. We weren't able to visit the water area this time but will definitely plan to when we go back. FYI you must have water shoes with backs (no flip flops) for the water area. We also took a stroll on the trail just off the play area. It was really neat and had interactive areas for the kiddos. A couple downsides: the bathrooms seemed unkept with no toilet paper and overflowing trash. There was also overflowing trash and throughout the park which invited quite a few bees and flies tot he shaded picnic area. read more

Great place for kids! Totally entertaining for active kids. Lots of slides and different jungle gyms. Soft ground for landing too. read more

Chessie's Big Backyard - Monkey bar expert - Playgrounds Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Great place for kids! Very family friendly and clean. In the summer months it can get very busy.

Visited this park today due to the great reviews. My son (2yrs old) LOVED IT!! We only hung around the playground since I didn't bring flip flops/water shoes for the splash area. I felt so bad because my little one would walk up to the fence around the splash area and point asking to go in. We are definitely going again tomorrow.. but this time we'll (I'll) be prepared. Only thing I wish was that there was a gate around both play areas to keep each playground age appropriate. My little one kept trying to run over to the big area while I was juggling him and watching my 2 month old in the stroller. read more

I keep hearing Chessie's is a "hidden gem"; however the truth of the matter is the secret is out! We visited on a hot AF Sunday and it was packed with not only 2 separate birthday parties but other families just generally enjoying this last wave of Summer. This is the perfect spot to bring multiple age groups because there are two separate areas: one for 2-5 and one for 5-12 year olds. Both areas have the soft impact ground so crawlers can crawl away. The area for 2-5 year olds is actually covered by a huge canopy which is really nice. While there are several slides and climb-on objects, there are no swings-boo! There is a carousel that is $3 and runs every half hour. There is no charge for parents standing near their kiddos. They also sell ice cream at the same stand where you can buy carousel tickets. This stand is right near the bathrooms, which were relatively clean. One of the highlights of Chessie's is the nature trail. It's very stroller friendly but also not too long if you have to carry a LO. There is a fun scavenger hunt that goes along the trail that features not just animal statues but lots of musical activities too. If it gets too hot, the REC center is right next door so you can cool off and enjoy amenities there like the soft play room (if you have 5 and under kiddos). read more

This park is why I march, sign petitions and boycott. Every child should have access to this level of water awesomeness. I have been to some awesome places in my life, great wall, tons of temples... but THIS playground would have been in my top 10 life experiences had I known about it when I was 8!!!!! One day all of the world's children will have access to this magic, and a pony. Make sure you wear water shoes, and hydrate. read more

Hidden gem. Cute small trail that is perfect for young kids. Their playgrounds are marked by age groups AND they have a merry go round. Can't believe I've lived here for 9 years and just discovered it!! read more

Great trail and playground for children! They have sensory toys on the trail, as well as a nature trail with statues of animals to search for! My Martial Arts students loved this place for our field trip during Summer Camp. read more