Love this public park! The playgrounds and sports facilities are spaced out nicely. It can get…read morecrowded in the weekend, with limited parking onsite. Took my two year old here and had a blast, will recommend!

I so miss the rocket, and the merry go round. As one can imagine, we live in a litigious society,…read moreand best guess is that's why the latter is gone. This isn't to say it's a bad place, as quite the opposite, it's a truly safe park. Located right next to the Fairfax City police department, I have a lot of happy memories from here. Taking my kids to this park was fun, and so was sledding on the hills in winter. Some parts of the trail need to be repaired, but otherwise it's in great condition. Kids of all ages will like the skate park, and the basketball hoops. Also the fields are fun for kite or drone flying. This is a rather large park. You can get exercise on the tennis courts, or cook on the grills here. The covered patios with tables, make for a decent birthday celebration spot. Also there's a volleyball area too. If in the area stop on in, and hours are dusk til dawn.

Loooove this park. Natural shade everywhere, TWO playgrounds with one that is toddler friendly and…read moreTWO swing sets. There's a pavilion next to it with a grill and there's a porta potty AND a THRONE potty which is like an upscale porta potty with a changing table. Super clean and easy to access.

Used to go there as a kid with basketball courts. Nice place If you like a woodsy venue. It's been…read moresemi renewed and some of it is still in the 80s

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.

Ratliffe Park is a great little park tucked away in the heart of Fairfax City…read more There is a playground for both toddlers and elementary school age kids, giant saucer swing, animal totem pole, and artfully arranged tree trunks that kids can practice their jumping skills on. My children are especially fond of all of the fresh mulch to play with (eye roll). There is a covered picnic area which would make this spot perfect for birthday parties as well as lots of green grass to run around. I find it a little bit more quiet and more well-maintained than nearby Van Dyck Park which can get kind of crazy if you have tiny littles like me.

A nice park by old town Fairfax. Right off of Sager Avenue, there's a decent field here. This is…read moregood for throwing a baseball or football around. Also the basketball courts are pretty sweet. I like the amount of open space here, plus the trees mixed in, for a bit of a relaxing view. Parking is a cinch, as I just park on Sager. If you have little kids, there's even more. The playground is quite extensive. They will also like the swings. A clean park, and a safe place away from big streets to. It's a fine place for families to go. This usually isn't too busy either, so people who like a laid back spot, might be enamored by this. There are some gardens and flowers too.

One of the nicest,condensed playgrounds I've seen and definitely the most technologically advanced…read more We had fun playing "buzz" along with the British-accented voice. Also cool was the music box feature,which played several songs including "row,row your boat", "here we go around the mulberry bush", and "if you're happy and you know it". The highlight for older kids is the stand-up merry-go-round. There is one of the swings where the adult and baby can swing together too. There is a long tunnel slide as well as a tiny slide for tots. The setting in the woods is nice too. Parking is available in the lot at the front of the path to the playground. The playground equipment is brand new; definitely worth a visit if you're nearby.

Nice place for families. It won't win awards for its size. Yet despite the small land area, there…read moreare plenty of playgrounds for kids to choose from. This has a lot of them, and good climbing equipment. The park is best for the 5 to 12 year old age. There are some unique playground parts to play on. I like the trees. Am relieved this park is here. All around here development is alarming. Parking is no stress. This park is close to so many attractions. My hope is the county will modernize this one again soon. If you have little ones who can wear you out, this should make them exhausted. That alone means please visit!

Draper Drive Park is fairly well hidden. It's a left or right quickly, but it's at the halfway…read morepoint of the street named that. I find it irritating, that you can hear noise from the close auto body shops in the area. Then again living in the condos would be even more frustrating. This park is in a industrial area, but does have some good attributes. Soccer players will love the fields. They are high quality. As for the grounds, they are well maintained. Lots of nice maple trees. Was enjoyable today, due to the leaves changing colors. There is a small playground little kids will like. Also there are two canopies for picnics. They have portable bathrooms here, which can vary in cleanliness. All in all a okay park.

this is a great park with a nice playground. It has swings, monkeybars, spinning things, and…read moreslides. its kind of tucked away but I didn't feel like it was sketchy at all. The soccer field next to it looks to be well maintained and well used. The negative thing was the stinky porta-potty toilets right next to the swings.

Great Park for toddlers! We met a nice family that invited my daughter to their daughter's…read morebirthday, that they were having that day at the park.

Love this park! It has an awesome kids playground good for toddlers and older kids! Tons of slides,…read more4 swings and a tire swing! They have a sand volleyball court, a soccer field, a baseball field and a softball field. They have restrooms that get about a 3 star rating, but get the job done. It's a popular park and there is a lot of parking.

Lots of fun times here. When my son was 3 to 6 years old, he was thrilled to go here. It was fun…read moregoing recently with a friend and their little one. Now I have a 13 year old with a different attitude and eye rolling. Yet coming back here was worth it. You do have to park on neighborhood streets, but unless a nice weekend, it's relatively a cinch. This park is fenced in. Please still watch your kids though! There are a lot of toys for them to play with. I think people donate items here. There's also some playground equipment. It's not fancy but it's good for small children and families.

Reviewing as a pregnant mom with a 21 month old who visited around 10 am on a Thursday after school…read morewas back in session for the area/ Parking: perfect! Right on the street next to the park, I had no problems finding multiple parking spots which was great! Bathrooms: right on the side, nothing fancy. Single bathrooms, spacious to bring your stroller in. Park: park itself looked underwhelming but once I started strolling through, I noticed how many play areas there were. There were at least 4 different swing areas (bucket and regular swings), there was a sandbox with toys (no slide anymore), two park playgrounds (one for toddlers one for big kids) and plenty of benches for parents, along with a sort of merry go round that my son loved pushing Crowd: great diversity and different ages there. When I went there were a lot of nanny groups and kids all playing together. My son is a little younger than the crowd and isn't used to playing with others but he enjoyed watching nearby. Seating: like I said, tons of benches set up at each little attraction, a good amount of picnic tables where the older kids were having lunch outside which I loved! Overall my son stayed for 1.5 hours and would've stayed longer if we weren't needing to leave for nap time. Great time! Wish I had taken more pictures but I'll update with overall area pictures when we go back next which I know will be in the next couple days!

My kids and I call the is Royal Lake park and it's a nice neighborhood/local park. A nice lake you…read morecould kayak in (not too many ppl), with geese, turtles and ducks. Very busy Saturday mornings during some seasons due to soccer (so parking lot will be full). There's a pretty good toddler and bigger kid playground structure and basketball court. It's about a mile walk across the lake with some paved parts but other parts are gravel and dirt and stairs. You'll have to carry a stroller at some points if taking stroller. Beautiful to look at the tree line during Fall.

It's nothing extraordinary. Right off of Pommeroy St, this is a small place with a playground. The…read moreset is decent enough for little ones. The field is of substantial size to throw a football around, or maybe fly a kite, but the goose poop isn't so attractive. That alone is a reason why the Canadian Honkers have less bag limits, during hunting season so please hit 'em up. As for the view, I do appreciate Lake Royal. Only two lakes in Virginia are natural, but this one has herons and an occasional eagle. Fishing from this side is ok, but it's far more action on opposite. Parking is for the most part adequate. Can't beat the price of admission, as it's free, and the adjacent trail is a pleasant one.

Park is isolated behind a school. Very peaceful and even has some walking trails. Lots of random…read morefoot traffic through the trails which I think is t smart due to a school being literally connected via the trails. But my 4 year old and I have a blast! 2 play areas, plenty of trees, tennis, volleyball area, picnic area, and plenty of parking!

This is nice little park that is maintained by the City of Fairfax off of Jermantown Road. You…read morewouldn't know it's there as it is tucked away between a school, office buildings and a neighborhood. The best way to access the park is from Jermantown Road. There is plenty of parking space in the lot. The park has a single tennis court, open field, picnic pavilion, volleyball court, swing set, playground, a community garden and a shaded walking/running trail. The park is kept fairly clean and I've never seen it get too busy. I mainly use this park to run/walk on my lunch break during the work week. The trail is a simple wooded figure eight trail that is about a third of a mile in length. It has a fine gravel with a very flat grade so it's an ideal trail for a walk or run. Throughout the trail are various benches to sit on. The playground is nice and large, plus there is a swing set nearby. Both have standard mulch around them. The tennis and volleyball courts are in good condition, although there is only one of each. There is a community garden that people can pay for plots to grow their own veggies, herbs and plants. The garden does have a limit so make sure you reserve it in advance. More info can be found here: http://www.fairfaxva.gov/government/parks-recreation/parks/community-garden There are portable bathrooms nearby and I've never had to use them so I have no idea if they're in good condition or not. This park suits my needs and I think if more people knew it was there they'd use it. *This park is gun carry friendly.