The first thing you see when driving up to Lafayette Recreation Center are signs directing you to Lafayette Park. It gets confusing here in DC, with so many Lafayette things it's challenging to tell them apart. That I am the first person to review this incredible park is surprising, because this is one amazing place. This is listed as "Lafayette Recreation Center" by DCDPR, so I kept that as the name, but all the signs simply say "Lafayette Park".
It was worth it to push through to find this place because wow, it's special! This park has everything for little and big kids--the whole age range gamut.
Walking up to the park, we were amazed by the older, beautiful large trees that dot the property. We first passed softball fields to our left and tennis and basketball courts to our right. There is a restroom, plenty of water fountains that even have bottle filling stations--something rarely seen at public parks at the time of this review, particularly ones located outdoors where you don't have to go into a rec center building to find it. This park really doesn't have a recreation center that I could see. A few locked huts appear suited for holding tools, but those were both locked with pad locks and then someone actually screwed 2x4s across the doors, as if to emphasize that they should never be opened like something out of a horror movie.
For the little kids, there are play structures, swings, and a really great little splash pad that even has a water table. The gentle sprays, including a misting arch, were easily accessible. There were swings mostly for littler kids, and these swings were either baby style swings or larger swings that were not very bendable, almost stiff. That's different, because I never see unbendable swings in parks around here.
The toddler play area was not fully shaded when we arrived, and it included not only the baby swings but also plenty of play houses and structures. It did not sport the leftover park junk that you see in many parks around here. It was clean and purposeful, and my kids really enjoyed it.
There was increasing sizes of play equipment as you moved toward the big kids area. Log cabin style structures dotted the middle of the park and surrounded a large, beautiful tree that shaded them. They even had one of the giant swings I think are made for wheel chair bound kids--not really sure about that, but it's the kind with two benches which you jiggle back and forth.
Finally the biggest play structure I have ever seen is in this park, right at a peak point. This thing was huge, but my 2-year olds still managed to climb it, much to my horror. Seriously, I think this might be around 25 feet tall with a giant slide on one end. It was reasonably safe and is truly special in this age of litigious parents who ruin everything fun. I climbed up this thing chasing my kids around and wow is it fun! It was more challenging for me because I'm way too large to fit everywhere easily, but the height was really exciting and the rope bridge was exhilarating.
There were some beautiful walk ways though the park, and a sitting area under a roof. There are also ample benches everywhere and the park was plenty shady even though we were there from around 10am-1pm, the worst time to go.
The tennis courts (I think there were 6-8 courts, only two were occupied) and basketball court were behind the restrooms. While tennis was in full sun, the basketball area was shaded. One basketball hoop was missing a net, but otherwise it was really nice. The tennis courts were legit, super beautiful courts. And between the courts was some exercise equipment. There were multiple square areas or lawns where you could host a party or picnic or something along those lines. No vagrants were around, but it was late in the day (usually you only run into that crowd if you arrive before 8am, in my experience).
With so much to offer and so many unique pieces of park equipment, this is one of my favorite parks here in DC. The only thing it is missing is nature walks through the woods or an indoor area to escape to during hot or cold weather. Otherwise, this is better than most parks, especially since it has the splash pad that is honestly one of the best in the city.
I should also mention that this park is adjacent to Lafayette Elementary School. The school has A LOT of play structures around it, all were in full sun when we were here and none of them could surpass the incredible play structure in the center of the Park. But if you run out of stuff to do at Lafayette Park during non-school hours, I assume you could go over to the school area as well.
This one is worth going out of the way for. Did I mention that the park was clean as well? I actually didn't see many trash cans around, but this is a concientious neighborhood so it was really nice. read more