Along the Potomac River northwest of Georgetown is a close-knit community called The Palisades…read more This is its recreation center. There's a small parking lot in the front and trails that lead to an actual recreation center, fields and a playground that doubles as a splash park in the summer. My four-year-old daughter loved the playground. It's modeled after an Indigenous American village along the Potomac River with slides, etc. For being in a wealthy neighborhood, it's a little run down, but still a lot of fun. If you like quirky art, take the small dirt path to the right when facing the parking lot. Walk a few yards to a small opening in the forest to find the "Glass Forest" with art hanging on the trees. It's a little creepy, but also quirky!

Hmmm...I suppose I was assuming this playground would be more than it was given the area…read more The good: *a couple slides, things to climb on *dedicated parking lot *fitness equipment *skate park (definitely check this out) The issues: *the equipment is old and run down: pieces of the padded floor are all over the place and kids throw them *back to those kids and why we won't be back....where are the parents, nannies, guardians, SOME adult?! There were lots around but no one was telling their kid to not throw pieces of the ground at people. My son was excited about the slide....until he was trampled while going down it by 4 kids (at least 8 years old so they should know better anyways) running up the slide. This hasn't ever been an issue before since caretakers are usually at least sort of watching their kids but nope not here. Overall the equipment was boring and the playground way beyond capacity, particularly during these times. Not a fan, won't be back.

Definitely a nice local park. This is more for people with little ones. Kids will enjoy the…read moreplayground. They definitely have some nice equipment. There's some good trees to enjoy. It's certainly an oasis from the city environment. Come if you are close. If driving a ways not worth it. This area is super busy. Traffic can be a real challenge. Parking for the most part isn't too bad. Am grateful for this park, and hope it stays in its current location. Yet the area is known for parks, and there are better ones.

Not far from Quincy Park is another public park easier to miss since it's nestled within a…read moreneighborhood. Park on the street and follow the signs for this medium-sized park. There's a track around the playground and green space that kids ride scooters and bikes on. The playground itself is built more for older kids with ropes to climb to access the slide. There's enough shade and places to sit. Sadly, there aren't restrooms.

Nice size park. Decent amount of street parking. Area for smaller and big kids. Basketball court x…read more2 and a soccer type area . Lots of trees but no cover from sun. Enjoyed this area. Also has bathrooms.

Rocky Run park is a great spot for all age groups and is very spread out so it never seems too…read morecrowded. Located in North Arlington, parking is on the street and can be tricky to find. There are several different areas of the park including two playgrounds. The big kid area has a large ropes course and tunnel slide (which was barricaded off at this time. The little kid area has some digging areas, musical elements, but very simplistic features. There are a few songs too. Bathrooms are available between the two playgrounds. In the lower part of the park is a gigantic turf field. You can play soccer, hockey , or just sit out in the sun. There are two sets of basketball courts one of which has a volleyball net too. There are some tables around for seating and there is a great track around the turf for bike riding. We definitely plan to return again soon!

I have been going to this park for some time now and it is one of the nicer parks right in the…read moremiddle of the city. There is plenty of parking by the library or even the street. Plenty to do around and a lot of restaurants and bars. My friends and I have been coming here to play tennis. They take many courts pretty well kept! And roughly 10 minute way to get to Ballston Quarter.

Great recycling experience! They have parking and massive containers! Very easy to sort and it's…read morenot busy.

Top secret playground and picnic spot buried in a post war neighborhood just a short distance away…read morefrom District Taco. This place is clean, stocked with brand new equipment including the teacup spinner seat that would make anyone over the age of 8 vomit, and also features a paved track around its perimeter that would be a good spot for training a tyke to bike. There are shady spots and benches for grownups seeking to escape the sun, always a bonus since there is some regulation on the books that require all playgrounds to be devoid of the slightest shadow at midday. Only drawback is that unlike many Arlington parks there are no restrooms, so of course after about 15 minutes of playing my daughter realized her bladder could no longer hold all the Boylan's cream soda she'd imbibed at D.T. with her lunch.

We love this park. It's a bit tucked away in a neighborhood not far from Westover, and there are so…read moremany different things to do in it that could occupy your kids. The best thing about it, in my opinion, is that there is a continuous looped trail for bicycling along the outskirts of the park. It's the closest thing you get to a fenced-in park without it actually being fenced in. (Keep in mind that it is pretty large, and it isn't necessarily a park you'd be able to see your kid at all times if he/she ran or biked to the other end). That being said, my kids loved coming here to practice biking and I liked that it was contained. The climbing structures are great, and the rock structures enthralled my kids. There are water fountains too, but alas, no bathrooms. No matter, it's still an awesome park regardless.

This is a teeny tiny park in N Arlington located near Lee Highway. So I definitely need to preface,…read morethere was this insanely creepy dude hanging around the toddler playground and spinning himself in the cup swing while rapping to the music in his head that was very unnerving. Hopefully someone takes note of that. Otherwise, we had a small amount of fun here. We enjoyed the big kid slide, and the little tikes area. There is a large grassy area with several chairs; however, expect to be eaten alive down here. Parking is on the street.

Great for big and little kids alike. Free two hour street parking nearby. Shaded. Benches aplenty…read more Adjacent to basketball courts. Great gem of a playground. Paved walking/biking trail goes right by it.

Fun little playground hidden in the neighborhood. You park on the street and there is a path to…read morewalk in. There is a little kids area and then a climbing area. It backs up to people's back yards.

Woodlawn is a great little park, well shaded and with awesome play structures, a sandbox, benches,…read moretables, basketball court, playing field, and cute little path complete with a nice bridge over a beautiful little stream. The stream is probably a drainage ditch but it has clear looking water and is really beautiful, and it's bubbling sound is so relaxing. I bring my kids here to ride their scooters around the path and run in the fields. When they get tired of that they usually move to the sand box, which ash clean white sand. Sometime we play on the swings, sometimes we play on the play structures. There is a large play structure for bigger kids, which I note is popular with teenagers, and a small structure for the toddlers. This park has some of the best swings as well. They have one round dish type swing which is great for little kids. But they also have a huge swing structure and--added bonus--there are not holes underneath the swings. This park is really popular with the local neighborhood. We always meet dog walkers. There's a working water fountain that has a dog bowl next to it. Kids are often walking through. It feels like a really positive place, so I love it! I also love the proximity to Ballston and I66. The basketball court was just resurfaced with blacktop, so that is a really nice place to play--although I've never seen anyone using it. There are also a few plastic riding toys that people have donated to the park. My kids love those. The only negative are the daycare kids. Huge groups of them stop by every now and then, and wow there are a lot of kids! They overwhelm the park. All in all, great little park! It's not fenced in so you have to stay alert if you have little ones, but it's also shielded from the road pretty well so it's a great place to stop by.

Nice little spray ground and park with a fairly good variety of play equipment and options (in…read moreaddition to the spray ground on the left side of the entrance, there's also a large sand pit/play area, a couple swing sets, several other smallish but adequate climbing structures, open grass spaces, covered picnic table area, and other elements I can't quite remember at the moment. None of these are particularly amazing or updated like the fancy new stuff at many other playgrounds in the area, but all work perfectly well for kids (and parents) looking for a place to simply run and play. The area is fenced and gated (with a relatively child proof or at least child resistant locking mechanism) which I like a lot and wish all parks offered. I did not walk all the around to the back of the grassy area on the other side of the picnic structure to check to see if the fence went all the way around the entire park though, so I can't speak to the full "security" of the park overall, but it definitely seems securely fenced on the street side where all or most of the actual playground equipment is located, and I was able to watch my three kids play in different areas on either side fairly easily from my vantage point at the central picnic structure. It's not my kids' first choice of park in the area, given so many other nearby options like Quincy, Oak Grove, Woodstock, Woodlawn, Mosaic Park, Madison Manor and others, but it's a perfectly nice neighborhood park with a number of enticing elements like the spray ground, sand pit play area, covered picnic shelter, and several tennis and basketball courts. Particularly good park choice for birthday parties, btw.

This is a little park tucked into North Arlington across from the Arlington Science Focus School…read more There is a small parking lot or street parking is available. This is definitely for the 5 and under crowd IMO. There are no big slides, no extensive climbing apparatuses. There's 2 baby swings and 2 big swings. There's a large sand pit that includes an excavator for digging and a play kitchen. There is a 3 person seesaw and a tiny pirate ship. There are two small slides. The centerpiece is supposed to be a solar system themed spray park. Currently you can climb on the "planets". Water fountains are working. There are tennis courts and a small bike circle. If you have bigger kids, go elsewhere but this is perfect for toddlers!

Bring your children here for a fun filled morning! Tends to get really hot during summer afternoons…read moreand there's not much shade. There's a nice little water splash fountain for kids to play around as well as a baseball field, and a playground on sand. It's nice that it has picnic tables to snack on:)

It's great. The newly renovated rec center has a co-op daycare, a game room, flat screen TV and…read moreclean bathrooms. It's by far the best rec center in all the DC parks I've been to as a mom.

I loved this place when it opened. Staff would be actively seen cleaning and maintaining equipment…read moreall the time. Sadly over time, maintenance doesn't seem to be a priority. Several things are broken and possibly unsafe. Management needs to pay attention.

Fun place for our 3 year old! Lots of areas for interactive play including tubing for balls,…read moreslides, obstacles, tricycles. You have to buy their socks to maintain standards for cleanliness. The bathroom has croc type slippers to go in. I recommend!