Beautiful and well kept state park with picturesque walking trails. Perfect for enjoying the…read moreoutdoors, nature, picnics, and water outdoor activities. We went to a 2024 Eagle Festival and had a very wonderful & educational time. The entrance to the park was free on the day of the festival and free transportation from the parking area to the festival location was free. We saw beautiful birds: falcon and owls and snakes. The staff and the organizations at the events were very informative, professional, and fun. They gave a lot of free gifts, educational opportunities, information about wildlife & the environment, and photography moments with the birds. I can not fully express how impressed I was about the Eagle festival in Mason Neck in this review. I strongly suggest you visit next year festival event in Mason Neck or just visit it.

Started 2026 off with a 1st Day Hike, decided to go to Mason Neck. Free entrance (1st Day),…read morefriendly Ranger at check-in and he provided info, 1st Day Sticker. Very nice Visitor Center, staffed with more friendly & helpful Rangers/Staff. Informative displays, gift shop and clean restrooms. Plenty of trails with a nice view of the water, a boardwalk, and the woods. They were hosting a Winter-Fest which was nice, and full of great information, events especially for kids.

What a gem! Chessie's Big Backyard is such a great spot for kids (and grown-ups who like a good…read morewalk). 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!

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

This spot has great picnic areas, shade, good parking and a lot of trail options. A lot of birthday…read moreparties and photoshoots get done here but other than that lots of space!

This is a nice park that has many nice running trails, covered pavilions, and a disc golf course…read more It is part of the larger Laurel Hill Park. The trails are well maintained and are pretty long. There is an unpaved nature trail and a paved loop trail with nature views. There is also a huge green area between the pavilions where you can throw a frisbee around, fly a kite, toss a football and/or play a game of catch. It is well maintained, but is not totally level. This park seems very popular with people with 4-legged friends, joggers and hikers. The disc golf course has 18 holes, is in the woods and is in decent shape. Beware of critters such as ticks and mosquitoes if you plan on using the course. The park has adequate free parking available. The covered pavilions are nice and relatively new. They have lots of picnic tables under them and two grills per pavilion. They can accommodate for 120 to 168 people. The pavilions need to be reserved and are available for rent. I like this park, it is a peaceful, soothing no frills park with wonderful opportunities to immerse in nature. It is perfect to host events as it has lots of parking and can hold many people.

Launching our kayaks here for years having grown up here always an easy experience minus the…read moreoccasional fast boat. Of note though finding someone if you need to rent one however, is an experience i havent had to deal with.

I wish I had more time at this park. It was absolutely beautiful. They had a great area where you…read morecould learn about women in history. Then they had a little dining area where you could grab a great salad or a sandwich and eat alfresco outside. I'll follow it up with a nice stroll through their park.

Fantasy playground was A-ok…read more Positives: -parking lot - (very) small sand box -4!!! Baby swings -imaginative play areas Negatives: -very little shade -rocks are the main surface-tennis shoes recommended -spaces are small so you will probably smack your head trying to play with your kids -equipment is a bit run down, could definitely use a facelift -no bathrooms Located in a residential area, so reasonably crowded. Would not drive out of the way to visit in the future.

A very fun play ground wouldn't recommend it to older kids has tight spaces and can be very hot and…read morecrowded I would suggest taking your kids here that are below 6

We recently went to Burke Lake Park with family and had a great time! We rode the train, went to…read morethe playground and played mini golf - we hardly had to wait for both the train and mini golf! The mini golf course was kept up nicely and was good for a wide range of ages! We will definitely be coming back.

I hadn't been in awhile and this place is as Yelp worthy as ever on a warm fall day. It's a must…read moredo if you like anything outdoors. They have a giant lake for fishing, you can fish from the dock areas or bring or rent a non-gas powered boat. You can also rent a canoe or paddle boat but all the rental stuff is only open during spring/summer They have a 5 mile trail along the lake that's a nice walk but can be crowded when the weather is good and pay attention since the trail entrance isn't marked as clearly as it could be. They also have mini golf, a train, playgrounds and some other stuff. It's free for Fairfax County residents (glad we're getting something for our taxes) and $10 for everyone else but of course the rentals, mini golf, train, etc. cost extra. There's a decent amount of parking but go early on a nice day or you might have a hard time grabbing a spot. I'll come back here for sure to walk the trail and maybe do a little fishing or rent a boat

April 15, 2026 - A hidden gem and fascinating park we discovered recently since we moved here in…read more2023. It has been an incredibly fun adventure for us - finding parks and places to enjoy, hike, and immerse ourselves in the nature, beauty of the outdoors, and wildlife in Virginia & Maryland. We walked all the trails in the Hidden Pond Park and liked spending time in the Hidden Pond Nature Center in the park. There are many activities for children and adults in the parks. The staff there were friendly and helpful. The park is well maintained and there are so many picturesque areas and hiking trails to experience there. We spent about three hours in the park. The park was peaceful and quiet. We experienced no traffic and saw very few people during our hike on the trails. Austin, one of the staff in the Nature Center, said it had to do with the geography & location of the park. Along the trails are many sitting areas to take a break. We saw many kinds of birds, deer, flowers, and foxes during our time in the park. Strongly recommend wearing bug repellent & sunscreen and checking out a map of the trails in the nature center. Beautiful park to visit during each season and very ideal for wildlife photographers and for peaceful & quiet walks in the park.

What did we see on our first day walking the trails? -Red fox, 3 deer, red shouldered hawk,…read morecardinal, woodpecker, sleeping squirrel, sparrows, chickadee, carnivorous plant, and a turtle back at the pond. Pretty eventful day, April 15, 2026. Staff were helpful and nice! Nature Center provides wildlife education and animals, a place to refill water or use the utilities. I wouldn't expect to see all that we seen, as think we were pretty lucky to come across all of that in one day. For instance as soon as we sat down on the bench near the river, the hawk flew over and landed nearby, first to get a drink of water then perched nearby. The fox happened to be coming to the river before we locked eyes and ran off while I fumbled with my dang lens cap, as always. Good luck!

This is my fav local hiking spot in Fairfax. You can log some serious miles without having to drive…read morehours to Shenandoah. From the trail head west of the parking lot, our usual hike is about 6 miles out and back. Turning point is the private access road about 2.7 miles out. You can continue and head down to the water but not today for us. It was pretty toasty and we didn't bring a single Nalgene bottle. Trails are a pretty well maintained. In the Spring or Fall, it does get muddy and slick so wear shoes with good traction. There's also decent fat burning, butt busting inclines which are pretty absent on a lot of trails around Nova. So if you want to melt some calories, this is the place to be. You do share the trail with mountain bikers so step to the side and let them through.

Came here with a group for kayaking. Only they ran out of kayaks before noon. So some of us had to…read morerent standup paddle boards instead. There is a slightly more expensive pricing for folks not residing in Fairfax, Loudon, Alexandria, or Arlington counties. But they don't really verify...so as long as you put down an address within those counties on your waiver, then you are good to go. See my pics for the pricing as of Aug 2023. The Sat I came, they seemed very short staffed with only two people managing the rental payments and forms and then another 2 manning all the boats/boards. So we pretty much ended up having to launch and bring back our vessels ourselves. They have very limited 2 person kayaks and they require kids under 12 to be in a boat with another adult so be prepared. In addition to kayaks they have jon boats and stand up paddle boards. You can bring your own vessel but there are launch prices. The lake is quite large so 1 hour is still not enough to explore its entirety even if you were powering through. The boat rental process is this: 1) Each person needs to fill out a waiver (just one page), you need to keep the yellow paper on you and return it when you come back. 2) Payments can be done per person or by group and they accept Apple Pay 3) Go down to the dock, hand them your form 4) They will tell you which vessel you can pick and hand you life vests and paddle(s) 5) Go have fun 6) Return the vessel 7) Bring back the yellow form to the rental house Not sure why we need to keep a piece of paper on us while out on the water. I've rented boats in many other places and all they needed was the vessel back. I guess to prevent theft...but they log the number assigned to the vessel on the form prior to you renting so...But at least there isn't an entrance fee to this park and there isn't really much else to do besides activities around the water front. There is a trail that leads to Bull Run, but there isn't say a playground, picnic area, or sports fields. Parking is pretty limited but you can park along the side of the road.

Nice big park with a variety of activity areas and uses. I came for the Free Friday Night Summer…read moreConcert Series and arrived just in time with still parking available with a short walk to the performing area which was also right next to the playground. I noticed a little bit of a garden around the barn, and wandered that for a bit as well to find not just a little garden but a big set of what looks like community gardening plots where people were growing veggies, flowers, and any other number of garden items. I guess there's a dog park here as well, but it seems people have listed the dog park separately for it's own reviews.

If it's your first time to Occoquan, an 18th century mill town, start at River Mill Park. It's a…read morespacious park along the Occoquan River with views of the bridge and historic town. Here's what you should know: 1) Parking: At the end of Mill Street is a small parking lot at the park's entrance. If it's full, try to park along Mill Street. 2) Space: It's a long park with plenty of green to picnic and enjoy the views. Walk across the bridge to see a better view of Historic Occoquan. 3) Amenities: There are public restrooms and the historic mill-turned museum is right off the park. There are benches and trails. The park often hosts community events. When I went in October 2021, there was a giant "LOVE" public art display for photoshoots. River Mill Park is also a great spot to eat your food from one of the many restaurants nearby.

I recently visited this park and it was honestly a pretty disappointing experience. The grass was…read moreovergrown and looked like it hadn't been maintained in a while. Several trash cans were overflowing, and there was litter scattered around the walking paths. The playground equipment also seemed worn down and not very clean. On top of that, the bathrooms were in poor condition and didn't seem to be cleaned regularly. It made the whole park feel neglected. Parks are supposed to be relaxing places to spend time outside, but this one just felt poorly taken care of. I hope the city puts more effort into maintaining it because it could be a really nice spot if it were cleaner and better managed.