Took a walking tour of historic Falls Church, Virginia. Falls Church has a very interesting and…read morediverse history. It's a nice little walking city. The walking map could have been a little more user friendly.

Cyndy's Bottom Line: A wonderful tribute to the African American heritage in Falls Church…read more Start at the beginning to read all of the inscriptions on the sidewalk opposite of the monument.

We had such a fantastic historical tour of the property when we visited for one of Fall Church's…read moreice cream socials at Cherry Hill Park. The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable of the history of this landmark, and thoroughly answered questions we had.

We had so much fun here at Cherry Hill Park! We stopped in on a Saturday morning just before 9am,…read moredrawn in by the farmer's market going on in the parking lots next door. And then we just kept walking into this incredible park. As we walked through the gardens, there was an explosion of baby rabbits hopping about everywhere. My kids loved it, and I admired the beautiful gardens. I don't know if this is a wedding or events venue, but it should be because it's beautiful. The house and barns look like they belong here, as though someone might be living in them, except there's no driveway, there are public benches, and a few commemorative signs nearby. But at first I questioned whether we were in a public space or someone's yard. On the negative side, there were homeless looking guys sleeping on several of the benches. They woke up and disappeared not long after we arrived. The park is great. There are logs the kids can play on, in what appears to be a colonial reenactment area. My kiddos liked walking along the logs and jumping from one to another. There's two distinct play areas but both are great for toddlers and little tikes so I wasn't able to distinguish them very easily. The swings were a hot item when we were there, but there just aren't very many of them for a Saturday morning toddler rush hour. There is also a tiny house structure but it is slightly too large to be fun and too small to be interesting, no kids played in it except to inspect it. The sand volleyball court was also popular, as our kids joined others in excavating the volleyball service area. Luckily they didn't get very far by the time volleyball players arrived, though it wasn't for lack of effort. The park also has tennis courts and a basketball court, and there's a really nice nature trail along the edge of the park nearest the houses that back up to it. We walked through these flowers and gardens to find butterflies, bees and more rabbits. Also a nice feature, although there weren't very many picnic tables, there was one barbecue pit for people to build a coal fire. There was a very small pavilion area as well. I liked this park for the "nature in the city" feel. We were only a block away from fancy pants coffee shops, but it felt secluded and beautiful as light filtered through the enormous trees adorning the property. Other park visitors kept telling us about live music and imploring we check the schedule, but we aren't interested in that. This park is great with or without those concerts for me, and would be a really awesome spot to stop by anytime. I do not know if they have restrooms around, but with the restaurants and coffeeshops nearby, you should be okay. I think we spent about 5 hours here on our first visit and we didn't even really play in most of the park, so it's good for a long or short visit.

Cyndy's Bottom Line: Historic landmark in Falls Church…read more This house was the home of civil rights advocates and educators Dr. Edwin B. Henderson and Mary Ellen Henderson (for whom Falls Church's middle school is named).

Cyndy's Bottom Line: Native American Indians paved the way to roads in use today…read more Inscribed on the marker: Site believed near intersection of two indian trails, later used by colonial horsemen and wagons. Tobacco growers improved the routes for delivering this valuable crop which was about 1/2 of all colonial exports. Draft animals pulled large rolling cylindric casks or hogsheads along the original courses of Alexandria-Leesburg and Little Falls Roads. 1730 law established dockside warehouses & inspectors. They set the quantity and quality of tobacco casks and issued notes to farmers. Notes were legal tender, forming the foundation of Virginia economy.

Part of a greenway network, this park offers a small diversion from the surrounding suburbia. It…read moredoesn't have a lot of dedicated parking or facilities, but for being so close to the highway it is a quiet space, and with the trail access leading all the way to the tidal Potomac, you can spend as much or as little time as you want starting here.

There is a nice playground with what looks like new/well-maintained structures for kids. It has…read morewalking trails that lead to soccer fields and basketball courts. There are a couple of downsides, including a lack of shading in the playground section. Only a small picnic table area was shaded. And more importantly there are no public restrooms which if you are here with kids can be a big concern. The parking is limited to street parking.

Looking for a flexible and inexpensive space to host a birthday party? Look no further than the…read moreFalls Church Community Center! We recently booked the Teen Center for my nine (!!!) year old's birthday and the kiddos had an absolute blast. The vibe felt like a little house party -- there were tons of active games like pool, shuffle board, air hockey, and ping pong as well as a few board games, a tv, couches, and a mini kitchen with bar. We were able to entertain the children for two full hours with a mix of crafts, games, and food and felt like the area was able to contain a group of mixed ages nicely. On a spring or fall day, you can also utilize the playground at Cherry Hill Park which is directly behind the building. Booking was pretty easy and they set up all the tables/chairs which was helpful. Definitely plan for breakdown time -- you will need to cleanup and sweep afterwards.

I live in the town next to Falls Church but never knew about this hidden gem. There's group…read moregathering spaces, rooms to rent, and a sweet basketball court that I'd love to use regularly if I lived closer by. We were here for a birthday party where the host rented out a room. It was a really big room - maybe 50 feet long - so it was able to accommodate the large number of guests. There was a ping pong table in the center and books and games on the bookshelves. There were also tons of tables and seating for all the guests and a wet bar with a sink and counter for the host to set up food. It's an older building, but it met all of the kids' needs and everyone had a great time!

Cyndy's Bottom Line: The history of the Cage House uncovers the year Falls Church became a…read moretownship. The Cherry Hill Farm was acquired by Joseph S. Riley in 1874. In 1875, Joseph S. Riley lead the effort to petition the state for Falls Church to become a town. Thus, Falls Church became a township. In 1908, Joseph S. Riley gave the site to his daughter, Kathleen Maude Riley, as a present on her marriage to Charles Gage. In 1909, the Gages built a house named it "Poverty Pines." In 1956, The City of Falls Church purchased the property from the University of Virginia. In 1974, The City of Falls Church acquired the house and site, and made it part of Cherry Hill Park.. Today, the house is listed on the City's Historical Register as a Protected Structure and Site.

Every resident of Falls Church must visit this small park. The park honors the Tinner Hill…read morecommunity who successfully fought segregation in Falls Church and advocated for equal opportunity for decades. A plaque within the park tells their stories and calls out community leaders. There's also the "Zig-Zag" sculpture representing how leaders once tried to redraw boundaries to dilute the Black community's voting power. There's a shaded area to sit and a mural nearby honoring Tinner Hill.

Nice little park in Falls Church. There are a couple of plaques with historic information about the…read morearea.