Anytime is a good time to hit the playground to burn off energy and let little imaginations soar outdoors! Head to these playgrounds in your neighborhood and beyond for four-season fun.
Washington, DC
Anacostia Park Pirate Ship Playground
The Pirate Ship Playground is centered around its titular play structures, inviting children to use their imagination and take the vessel for a ride on the high seas. 1900 Anacostia Dr. SE, Washington, D.C.
Guy Mason Playground
Part of the Guy Mason Community Center, this playground features a sandbox, a toddler area and a nest-themed slide structure. 3600 Calvert St. NW, Washington, D.C.
Montrose Park Playground
Located on the grounds of what was once the estate of an early 1800s ropemaker, this fenced-in playground is lined with benches that give parents a secure place to watch the action from. 3052 R St. NW, Washington, D.C.
Picnic Grove 24 Playground
Part of the largest park inside the D.C. borders, Rock Creek Park, this playground’s activity structures and swings are perfect haven for young children visiting the over 1,750-acre park. Picnic Grove 24, Washington, D.C.
Shepherd Park Playground
Part of the Shepard Park Community Center and located by the elementary school of the same name, this playground is quite accessible, with smooth surfaces and a safety fence enclosing its area. 7800 14th Street NW, Washington, D.C.
Woodley Park Playground
Located near the Klingle Valley Trail, the play structure here features a couple of “helms” that turn the playground into a vehicle for adventure. Cortland Pl. and Devonshire Pl. NW, Washington D.C.
Maryland
Cabin John Regional Park
This wooded park features an expansive “Adventure Playground” that kids can enjoy alongside its many other amenities, including a skating rink, horseshoe pits and a miniature train. 7400 Tuckerman Ln, Bethesda, Md.
Cherryvale Regional Park
Among Cherryvale’s play structures is a lime green two-person slide, allowing for children to go on joint rides as a team or in a race. 10710 Green Ash Ln., Beltsville, Md.
Damascus Recreational Park
In addition to a tall central play structure that provides a view of the park, descendible by long enclosed slides, Damascus Recreational has an array of sporting fields on which children can run and play. 23723 Kings Valley Rd., Damascus, Md.
Gregerscroft Neighborhood Park
Located within walking distance of Watts Branch Stream, this small playground is a quiet place for kids to play, with smaller children able to enjoy a construction vehicle-themed play structure. 12021 Gregerscroft Rd., Potomac, Md.
Mitchellville South Park
This park features a bench swing, aquatic-themed pavement decoration and a Sway Fun glider that lets kids “rock the boat.” 15540 Peach Walker Dr., Bowie, Md.
Park Berkshire Park
The play structures and decor at Park Berkshire are all themed around a carnival aesthetic, giving an extra bit of wonder to play sessions it hosts. 6101 Surrey Square Ln., District Heights, Md.
Walker Mill Regional Park
Walker Mill is home to the Woodland Wonderland Playground, which features unique play structures with a magical forest theme. 8001 Walker Mill Rd., District Heights, Md.
Waring Station Local Park
A pair of dueling pirate ships serve as the play structures for this playground, making sure it’s the scene of many a grand adventure. 12210 Stoney Bottom Rd., Germantown, Md.
Watkins Regional Park
On top of this park’s playground and sporting fields, guests can also visit its mini- golf course, miniature train or carousel. 301 Watkins Park Dr., Upper Marlboro, Md.
Wheaton Regional Park
Connected to and including the beautiful Brookside Gardens, Wheaton Regional is one of the most furnished parks in the area with its train, carousel and sporting complexes. Its playground features large diamond-shaped structures of interlocking ropes that allow children to climb them like monkeys, forging their own paths. 2000 Shorefield Rd., Wheaton, Md.
Virginia
Alcova Heights Park
This 13-acre shady park has a picnic shelter, public restrooms and sports fields including a sand volleyball court, making it a wonderful location for a free family day out. 901 South George Mason Dr., Arlington, Va.
Armory Tot Lot
This former site of a National Guard Armory has been a children’s playground since the 1950s, and is a fenced area designed with toddlers in mind. 208 South Royal St., Alexandria, Va.
Benjamin Banneker Park
This park has two playgrounds, one for preschoolers and one for school-age children. It also features an obstacle balance course and is home to a boundary marker of the original Washington D.C. boundary. 1680 N Sycamore St., Arlington, Va.
Chessie’s Big Backyard
The playground is fully accessible to all children with padded rubber floor surface and lots of features to crawl through and climb over, ramps wide enough for wheelchair access, slides, swings and other specially designed equipment. Also part of the rec area are a treehouse, a sprayground and a carousel with a Chesapeake Bay animal theme. Plus a 2,160-foot trail designed for children of all abilities with features that appeal to the senses where along the way they’ll encounter wildlife figures representing animals indigenous to the Chesapeake Bay region. 6601 Telegraph Rd., Franconia, Va.
Douglas Community Center Playground
An ADA-accessible playground that features custom structures depicting African American history and culture. 407 E. Market Street, Leesburg, Va.
Eugene Simpson Stadium Park
This park was part of a parks improvement plan in the 2010s. Kids will love the unique insectoid play structure. 426 E Monroe Ave., Alexandria, Va.
Pine Grove Playground
Set in Prince William Forest Park, this wooded playground features monkey bars, seesaws, a climbing wall and a unique slide shaped like a bear. 18100 Park Headquarters Rd., Triangle, Va.
Potomac Yard Park
In addition to its interactive fountain for refreshing play in warmer weather, this park’s playground has a miniature labyrinth designed for little ones, with walls short enough for parents to keep track of their wandering maze-dwellers. 2501 Potomac Ave., Alexandria, Va.
Short Bridge Park
A small playground on the border of Arlington and Alexandria, this park’s proximity to Reagan National Airport makes it perfect for any little plane-spotters with their eyes on the sky. 3920 Potomac Ave., Arlington, Va.
Virginia Highlands Park
A nearly 20-acre park with multiple fields and a sprayground (water playground) to cool off at in summer months. 1600 S Hayes St., Arlington, Va.
Zitkala-Ša Park
A small, ADA-accessible park with a basketball court, multiuse field and rain garden. It is named after a prominent Indigenous activist. 3011 7th St. N, Arlington, Va.
Liam McCrickard holds a B.A. in creative and professional writing from Goucher College. He is assistant editor at Washington Parent. He also works as a freelance designer, writer and editor of tabletop role-playing games.
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Liam McCrickard holds a B.A. in creative and professional writing from Goucher College. He is former assistant editor at Washington Parent. He works as a freelance designer, writer and editor of tabletop role-playing games.
Liam McCrickard holds a B.A. in creative and professional writing from Goucher College. He is former assistant editor at Washington Parent. He works as a freelance designer, writer and editor of tabletop role-playing games.
