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.

This is a review of the dog park…read more There's so much space here for dogs to run around and explore. They have plenty of seating available for humans as well to relax in the shade while the dogs do their thing.

Madison Community Center is a former elementary school which is now a community center primarily…read moreoffering adult-oriented programs, especially those targeted at seniors. It's located adjacent to Fort Ethan Allen Park, so it's tough to tell whether the Dog Park and playground are part of the Community Center or the Park. I guess it doesn't mattter - they're both pretty nice. It's also the polling place for nearby residents come election time.

A great park with lots of options for fun: 2 tennis courts, hoops for adults and kids, playground,…read morebaseball field, dog run, and more. Having lived overseas where such amenities are simply not available or only to those who can pay, I say 'thank you' for providing taxpayers with something we can use every day.

This is a fantastic recreation center that has it all. From an inside classroom to a posh grass…read moresoftball field complete with folding chairs instead of bleachers, one of the best toddler spray parks in the city, multiple climbing gyms, sandboxes, tennis courts, swings for kids and toddlers, and a basketball court. It has restrooms and a The splash park is full of not-bad plastic toys (cars, things people drop off at the park) which are not even broken, unlike most parks around here. This is a really nice thing for kids, but what makes it better is that the splashing isn't huge. It's just the right amount of water for a toddler. The play structures are also the perfect toddler size as well. And the entire place is fenced in with multiple rounds of fencing. There is so much fencing that many of the nannies are not interested in even closing the toddler park fence. For me this is a place I can relax as a parent. There's almost nothing that can harm my kids here, except for the yucky goldfish and cheerios from the other kids, ha ha. The patrons are what you would expect: extreme helicopter parents and nannies. They are more high strung than most, but hey that's what you get with the neighborhood. All in all, this place was amazing and I look forward to coming back.

Overall: 20/10 The highest review I've ever given a…read morebusiness. Dominic Latella works miracles for swimmers! I took his "treading water" clinic and in 10 minutes, I was treading water effortlessly; something I've struggled doing for years and even after taking numerous lessons with private instructors (not affiliated with SwimBox). He's taught for 22+ years! and it shows. He simply knows how to coach all the minute details in swimming mechanics. I've always 'm someone with a high muscle to fat ratio and have ALWAYS sank like a rock. He taught me 3 styles to use my hands to tread and 4 styles using my feet. He demonstrated things in the water (such as corkscrews) that I've never seen/heard of before. He's very friendly and personable as well. I've taken the swim analysis and it was super helpful/beneficial. Looking forward to signing up for more classes! Highly recommend!

Another attempt at learning to tread water. Another rip off. My single goal was to learn to be able…read moreto jump into deep water and to swim back with my head above water. Basically, vacation-style swimming where you jump off a boat, tread for a bit, and swim back to the boat. I asked if I could learn this at SwimBox. I was told I could. If they don't teach this, they should have said so. Instead, I took 10 classes and was never taught either of these things. The instructor, as usual, wasted time in the beginning treating me like I'm afraid of water. I can already swim underwater and on my back (not expertly, of course). Instructors should start off with new swimmers by allowing them to show what they can already do vs. starting them with blowing bubbles and floating. At SwimBox, they have no incentive to move you along quickly since dragging out the lessons equals more classes, which equals more money for them. I gave the instructor the benefit of the doubt that she was teaching me some basic things I needed to know. However, as the classes went along, I noticed we were headed towards what I feared -- teaching me freestyle swimming and perfecting my form. This IS NOT what I asked to learn! I don't plan to swim laps or join the Olympics. When I clarified again that I wanted to learn to swim with my head above water, she dismissed that type of swimming as not real swimming. Well, that's how people swim socially and that's what I asked, upfront, to learn. Finally, I was lied to when I was told we would work on treading water, which is the MAIN THING that I wanted to learn. The pools are, obviously, not deep, but I was duped into believing I would still be taught. Each time I take swim lessons, they teach what they want to teach. I will just have to get a friend to teach me because formal instructors are apparently hard wired to teach every new swimmer freestyle. I wasted my money.

Love it here. So safe and peaceful. Everyone is very nice and it's super clean. But not so clean…read morethat your kid won't get a little dirty from running around. Nice basketball courts and tennis courts. Big soccer field.

This is a cute playground outside of Friendship Rec center in the Upper northwest part of DC. I…read moretook my toddler here on a Tuesday afternoon. It was pretty quiet (just nannies and a few kids) until the private schools let out and kids in Gucci shoes followed by moms in neon colored Chanel boots showed up and it became quite crowded. We left not too long after this because a few of these unruly children who were not being watched by their moms repeatedly tried to bully my 2 year old out of the sand area. Before these children arrived, we had a great time with the various slides and toys left behind in the sand. There's lots of open space, tennis courts, and a separate section for older kids. Parking is on the street and highly coveted. I noticed many cars circling on our way out. It looks like there's a splash pad here as well. I might take my son back here but would definitely choose to come earlier than later.

This park is always lively and has a large green space, plus pools, tennis courts, and a mini…read morebaseball field. My only complaint is that there are always tons of gnats and mosquitos, so whenever it starts to get too warm I prefer heading to Rose Park, also I'm Georgetown, for the same benefits but less bugs.

Seasonal pool for local residents and GU summer school…read morecoeds. Opens at noon and pass/sign in required. The basketball and tennis courts can get busy. There is a fascinating plaque in center of recreation center from 1958 ceremony. Then, the Daughters of the American Revolution estimated at least 17 Revolutionary soldiers are still buried there. Another account estimated 200 Presbyterian Cemetery and Black community members.

Dawson Terrace Community Center and Park is north of Rosslyn in a mostly residential neighborhood…read morecalled North Highland. It's along the highway and the Potomac River. The community center itself is in a historic stone building. The park is behind it with a section for smaller kids and a rope playground with a massive blue slide for older kids. There's a trail that leads to the remains of a castle.

This is a small park located just north of Rosslyn . There seem to be trails , a community…read morecenter(closed currently), and a basketball court. This park is most suited for the older toddler +. The tunnel slide is clearly the highlight of the park, but the only way to get there is up a large spiderweb that has large gaps in it that are not suitable to toddlers who have yet to develop the capacity to get up the ropes themselves. They have a couple baby swings (love they have the duo swing) and a spiderweb swing. The boat with binoculars is cute. There's also a little playhouse with a toddler slide. The fake grass has some nice hills to run up and down. There's plenty of seating available. The park is pretty Empty during the week. Once school lets out it gets busier. Parking is available both on the street and in a lot. I'd return here again, but only when my toddler (who turned 2 last month) can at least help me get him through the ropes to the big blue slide.

We had a family picnic here yesterday with my Cousin and her kids, my Sister, and my parents. The…read morekids loved it,because to them this place probably seemed gigantic. For the rest of us though, it is a relatively small space. My Cousin and I shot a few basketballs for about an hour, and then we just hung out and ate barbeque sandwiches and potato salad. There aren't a ton of trees in the area, but we were lucky enough to find a shady spot next to the children's playground. This recreation area also features a decent sized baseball field, although I think it was closed while we were there. All-in-all we had a great time, and the recreation area gave us all something to do on a late Friday afternoon. The kids had a great time, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to add a couple of more slides and play areas for the kids.

My sister and I came here during a trip to MD to visit our sisters. We stayed with one sister in…read moreLanham and the other organized a Caribbean arts and crafts station for #tastetheworlddc, a local event in DC. This was a new venue for the event but it's a great space. They have a huge ball field, multiple playgrounds for the kids and even a stage/amphitheater for performances. I believe you can rent the space for private events as well. We were able to try many different cuisines and there were different performances happening at the stage area. There were tons of vendors selling goods from their respective cultures and there were even few food trucks. It was a nice event. Unfortunately, the venue staff was not very organized. They had a private event booked right after the public event but failed to tell anyone so all of the vendors, including my sisters, had to pack up shop hurriedly because the next event was due to start withing 30 minutes. It was ill-timing and the venue staff should have let the organizers of the public event know well in advance so that the transition of events would be seamless.