This park is little bit on the older side and is pretty worn. It has street parking around its perimeter available, but there is a 2 hour time limit. The park features a basketball court, a picnic shelter, a playground, and picnic tables. It seems a little out dated and trashy. You will find 2 fenced in playgrounds areas here. The larger playground area, which is designed for older kids, has has a large jungle gym with a rock climbing structure, monkey rings, slides, bridges, tunnels and canopies. There is also a bank of traditional/ADA swings here. The area is lined with wood chips, with a rubber mat path going down the center. The other playground area, which is designed for pre-schoolers, has a small jungle gym with a rock climbing wall, a small canopy, a small rock climbing wall and a couple of slides. It seems much older and worn than the one on the other side. There is also a small blue wooden house, a mock pirate ship, a rocker animal and a few plastic tables and cars that you would get from a department store in this section as well. The area is lined with rubber matting and sand. It was not my favorite area to say the least. In between the two fenced playground areas, you will find a few benches to sit. The picnic shelter has a bunch of picnic tables under it and is in decent shape. The basketball court is a full court and is in fair shape. The park has a fair amount of green space to play, but the grass does have a large bald spot in the front that is just dirt and a few patches near the basketball court. The back side of the park, across the walkway, is where you will find some picnic tables and grills in a shaded area. This park needs a little TLC and updates to get it back up to speed. It is a fair park and would be an ok place to pass time if you are in the area. It would not be my go-to or destination park though. It does have a lot of potential though and I hope that it makes the needed modifications to reach that potential. read more

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Such a fun place to take your kids! Lots of great equipment! No bathrooms so bring a portable one for toddlers. We always have fun here!

I had a great time at this park. I like everything there. They have swings, slides, and a playground for older and younger kids. 5 stars!

This is another cute park in South Arlington. We visited in the late afternoon on a weekday and found minimal crowds. Parking is accessible on the street. On one side there is a jungle gym with a few slides. While this is meant for older kids, my toddler enjoyed traversing up the stairs and tunnel to get down the slide. On the other side is a large sandbox with some small climbing areas for younger kids. In the middle is a cute little train to climb on. I really appreciated the padding on all areas. Additionally, as an added bonus, there are quite a few toys (mostly ride in vehicles) that "belong" to the park for use while there. One of them actually still worked and made sounds and had lights. There are a couple gazebo areas and two swing sets. My toddler enjoyed this park and it now has a spot in our rotation! read more

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Because of the pandemic I needed an open space for my toddler to burn his energy and stay safe at the safe time. This park has a lot to offer. It has sections for different age groups. Slides, swings, sand area, and even baseball court. People here are respectful of your space and wore masks. The ground itself has many shaded spots which is nice when it's really sunny. Plenty of seats and there is bbq grill just outside the playground if you want to have a birthday party or something. read more

Penrose Park - Parks Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

This park is fully equipped with sand for the tots to 5 year olds on one side, a full jungle gym on the other along with a covered gazebo and full fence surrounding the playgrounds. You have a good mix of au pairs and parents who venture here with a diverse group of kids. There is some shade, but on hotter days might not be the most sound place to bring younger kids who aren't as willing to consume the amount of water needed to keep them hydrated versus the older kids. Basketballs courts are also onsite along with handicap accessible swings on the bigger kid portion of the playground. read more

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Beautiful park that has sections for different age groups to enjoy. People brought and left little toys, cars, truck there for the children as well which gives little more entertainment in addition to the playground toys. There are picnic tables and areas for birthday parties or simple picnic before/during/after the play. they don't have private parking per say so we have to find street parking. When the weather is nice it's hectic to find a spot but typically it's not tooooo bad. read more

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There's a great playground if you have kids (I don't), a couple sports courts, and a couple picnic tables. I was hoping this would be a nice place to walk my dog and it's not substantial enough for that. read more

Kid-friendly for all ages--baby to 12--broken up into different age-appropriate areas but all connected. Pros? Most importantly it's entirely fenced in. There's also a water fountain right outside, lots of benches, lots of wood chips, and some shade. Parking is on the street but not too bad. Cons? No bathrooms, sand in the baby/toddler area, and more sun than shade. Definitely recommended. read more

Penrose Park - Parks Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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Great playground area for kids. It has a large sandbox area and a great playground for older children too! It also has a cute little shelter for picnics. read more

Penrose Park - Little kids sand area in the back ground - Parks Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

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My apartment is not very kid-friendly...the only "toy" I have is a bright pink yoga ball that I bought on impulse six years ago. So when my 11-year old brothers or 2-year old niece come to visit me they know that they can expect a trip to Penrose Park. For a neighborhood park, their equipment is pretty legit. The 2-year old likes to play on the "baby" section (sand boxes, slides, swings, see saws, and animals that spring up and down) while the twins like to play on the "big kid" section which has monkey bars, twisty-turny things that were not invented when I was a kid, slides, and monkey bars. Obviously you can tell I am not down with the playground slang but this place is a lot of fun! I like to pretend that I am strengthening my core while flying (okay..more like slowly holding on for dear life) across the monkey bars. They even have a rock climbing wall (don't bring ropes...this is a public park not LL Bean yeesh!)! Overall: Free fun for the kiddies. A free workout for adults. Thank you Arlington tax payers for such a lovely park. read more

This playground is great in that it has four out of five things that are essential for a perfect park: 1) toddler play area 2) big kid play area 3) grills and 4) a shelter. However, it needs a bathroom to be a 5 star park. I assume most people who come here are families that live near by so it's not a huge drawback. There is also a basketball court and the sidewalk loop is nice for walking. read more

Penrose Park - Father & Son - Parks Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

Nice public park with a toddler section and a "bigger" kid section, divided by a bench area and a cool caboose climbing/play structure. many benches, so you are sure to find one in the shade. the toddler section has a nice sized sandbox with a boat climbing/play structure. The toddler climbing/play equipment in built on that "squishy faux blacktop" stuff, so falls are cushioned. many picnic tables under a roofed area. climbing wall in the bigger kid section and lots of tunnels to climb through! the whole play area is fenced in, although everytime I go the bigger kids constantly leave the gates open everytime they go to the water fountain, which is outside the gated area. no bathrooms :( read more

For starters put a Port-A-John there- mommies and daddies have been letting the kiddies pee and poop in the grass and among the trees. What a dump!!!! (literally) read more

I love this park! I bring kids I babysit to this park all the time now. I never have an issue with parking. There is always a spot right next to the sidewalk available so we don't even have to cross the street. There are two separate areas based on age. One is for ages 2-5 and the other is for older kids. There are free moving toys all over the place (little tyke cars, tricycles, toy trucks, etc.). There's a sand box area as well. The entire thing is fenced in which gives me peace of mind. Unfortunately the older kids (and even adults) leave the gates open. It doesn't bother me too much and I just nicely ask them to close it or just do it myself. There is quite a bit of shade which is nice (especially in the summer). There's also a covered picnic area where my kids like to color and eat snacks. There are plenty of benches for adults to sit and comfortably watch their kids play. A lot of people walk their dogs around the park but I don't bring the kids outside of the play area so that hasn't been an issue. The kids seems to enjoy watching the dogs anyway. Overall, I really like this park. I would give it five stars if there was a bathroom and a water fountain. I saw someone post that there's one outside of the play area so I'll have to look next time I go. read more