This is the perfect place for littles for some good old summertime fun. This is a SPLASH PAD ONLY and we loved it, here's why: -It's FREE and HUGE -Safe and Fun area for littles 1yr-5yr and parents to enjoy water play -Plenty of FREE parking -Swim shoes must be worn at all times -Swim diapers are allowed -FREE Playground available and easy to maneuver from the splash pad to the playground -Carousel available News you can use -No outside food allowed read more

Met up with my some fam and my goddaughter at this park... what fun! And it was quite a hot day for it. The parking lot was packed, but I managed to get a space that wasn't obnoxiously far and walk right in. My fam was hanging out under some umbrellas and I could see lots of water fountains and sprinklers all about. There's nothing particularly exciting for adults (except for the bucket pour, but it's a great environment if you're looking to cool off the kids! The bathrooms had an interesting protocol that I hadn't seen before. The park closes at 7, and each of the bathrooms closed in 15 minute intervals leading up to that time. For example, the leftmost one closed at 6:15, the second one closed at 6:30, and so on. What they don't tell you, which I do think would be key (kids and their bladders) is that they start cleaning the bathrooms out around 10 minutes before they close... so really you can't use the first bathroom after 6:05. Other than that, the park is cool! Seating is first come first serve, and they close promptly at 7. read more

This is one of the best splash pads and outdoor playgrounds for toddlers and young kids! My 20 month old had so much fun navigating the different splash pads and watching older kids get soaked. It's also FREE, we have been there during weekend afternoons and there are parking spots available. Bathrooms are clean compared to other public bathrooms. There is also a giant playground next to the splash pad. The slides have different levels for toddlers and older kids. The only challenge is to watch your kids while running around the giant playground in a crowded weekend afternoon. Overall this is a good spot for kids and parents to kill time! read more

It was our first time here & I was amazed at how clean the facility was. My children had a blast & most importantly it was free! They also have a very cute tree house, carousel and huge playground. read more

Absolutely love this place. Aside from the fact that it is completely FREE, it is both a fun and safe space for the kiddos to play. The Special Harbor spray park is ideal for kids 1 to 5 who enjoy splashing in the water and general sensory play. You'll see older kids in there too, but most kids that age might have more fun at a pool where they can dive into the water and swim. There is no food or beverage allowed inside the splash park aside from water, but there are some snacks and picnic areas available right outside. Overall I'd say kids are pretty well behaved. The parents do a good job at watching their own kids so there isn't much rough housing or anything like that. I'm very comfortable bringing my 1.5 year old here and he definitely seems to enjoy it. Right outside the splash park they also have an awesome playground, sensory trail, and carousel. This is a great place to spend the afternoon if you have young kids. read more

Free splash park with convenient location free parking and clean facilities. There are ample activities for toddlers to enjoy water as well read more

Since I spend all my hard earned cash monies trying to feed my child organic food grown with unicorn tear water, finding free activities for us to do together always feels like a big win! The Special Harbor Spray Park is definitely a neighborhood treasure. This is not your average dinky water fountain -- it's got soft floors and a nautical decor that just screams fun! My two year old was a little bit intimidated by the oodles of interactive fountains but felt right at home at their many water tables towards the side. She had so much divertido, I basically ended up bribing her to get her back home. There are lots of shaded areas and you can bring your stroller in as well. It can get pretty busy in the summer so come early to avoid lines. read more

To stay cool in the heat we headed over to Our Special Harbor Water Spray. This place is a new favorite and hidden gem that is totally free. We enjoyed our packed lunches under a tree, the kids ran wild in the treehouse playground and we ended the day running through the water sprays and dump buckets. A perfect Summer day and all for under $5 read more

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In the warmer months, Our special harbor spray park is great for "making a whole day of it" at Lee District REC center. You can easily maneuver back and forth between Chessie's Big BackYard and the spray park. Don't forget the carousel too! Admission is FREE which is actually quite impressive given the expansive space dedicated to the spray park. I have not visited on the weekends but have heard they hit capacity quickly. If they do, just hang out on the playground until you get the ok to go in. While there are some chairs and spaces to sit, these also fill up (and seem to remained claimed) throughout the day. No outside food is allowed, but I did not see this being strictly enforced. While they have spray guns attached to the ground, you are a-ok to bring your own toys if you want. I caution though that, as with most places like this, there will be unsupervised (although they should not be) children and one or more of them may run off with your toys. There are bathrooms, which is nice so you don't have to use the ones meant for the playground. My 2.5 year old had a blast and we will definitely return next season! read more

Excellent Spray Park for Children. Fully accessible. Well maintained and supervised. Plenty of parking but it fills up by 10 on most days especially weekends and/or when hot. Capacity is about 250, but usually there are 2 accompanying adults for every kid. Very family friendly. Large accessible playground next door. Party pavilions available to rent also. read more

Love the park and splash pad but there are a few things that need improvement. As stated in someone else's post, they need to stop kids from sitting in the water in the water mining area. There will literally be kids sitting there whole diaper in the water and then other kids will stick there face in the same water. So gross and dirty. Also, the chairs and seating arrangement needs improvement. When we had our items on chair another patron moved the items off of it and kind of laughed it off like it wasn't a big deal. Maybe just remove the chairs and have people bring in their own! read more

This place is great. I read some of the other reviews and complaints & shame on them! If you are the parent this is not a childcare or daycare center to drop your kid off. YOU should be watching your kid. This place is free so if you don't like it go pay at Cameron run or something. Either way the variety is great, my son who is 1 had a blast. The only thing that stinks is you can't eat at all inside but it makes sense as to keep it clean! You could always step out for lunch or snack break but you might get stuck in the line again lol. read more

Cute little park. I love how there were a lot of people, but it didn't feel crowded. You still had room to move around. My daughter had a great time. They sell ice cream for $3 and water for $1. Entrance is free. Minus one star because we bought tickets for the carousel and waited for about fifteen minutes and no one came. We ended up wasting money and leaving because it was too hot. It should be better organized. read more

Our Special Harbor Spray Park - Parks Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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This splash pad is a haven for children and caregivers in the summer heat. Co-located with Chessie's Big Backyard, a carousel, and nature trail, this pad rounds out a day of guaranteed fun. The facility is clean and spacious with plenty of bathrooms and parking. The spray park can get crowded, but you can't beat free! There's never been a shortage of seats and even in the blazing sun, there's a way to always find some shade. There's a little bit for all ages at the splash park, for the ittie bitties to the big children. At the opposite end of the entrance is the section that's a little more suited for the wee ones, with the standing bubblers/fountains/waterways. It's a little quieter away from the chaos of the giant splashing that's going on in the center of the park. I can't complain, this place is a gem! read more

This place is great for a family fun day. They have shaded areas and chairs for you to sit and put your stuff. They have large restrooms big enough to change in if you need to. There's picnic tables outside for you to eat at if you want to make a day of it. BEST OF ALL. IT'S FREE!! You just have to make sure everyone has swimming shoes because the water pad can get slippery. My little guy was scared of all the water spraying everywhere but he's still really little. His cousins loved it. They had a blast. This is definitely on on list of things to frequently do with the kids this summer. read more

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What a great place to spend the day with your kids! The splash pad is perfect for little ones -- and bigger kids as well. It's very large, clean and it's free. There are a couple of shaded areas on the splash pad to sit while the kids play. Don't forget your water shoes; you'll need them to get on the splash pad [they also sell a small variety at the REC center in case you forget]. When the kids get tired of the splash pad, head to the playground next door. There's also a shaded picnic area as well as a tree house to take a break from the heat. read more

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They need a shower area and a bathroom that's away from the spray area. Also kids need to stop sitting in the mining water area with their dirty diapers. And there needs to be life guards monitoring the area as my child was almost pummeled into the ground. read more

OMG y'all! We just moved here from California, two weeks before this splash park closed for the summer. And we cannot wait for next summer. It is incredible that this place is free. It is a like a full water park for kids under 5. This is our favorite find so far for the kids. read more

My boys love the spray park and Chessie's Big Backyard. It's a great all-in-one location for the summer months to fully exhaust them in one sitting at an affordable (FREE) price! read more

I was looking for a water park to take my young toddler to, since she's not quite into pools yet and likes to run around. Seeing that this was free admission and packed with variety, we decided to come here on a hot Saturday afternoon. Parking was crazy! We looped several times and everyone was stalking a lane. You're better off going to the rec center just a little further down, cutting through the tennis court grass and walking over. There was also a 20 minute wait in line, since they were letting people in based on how many were coming out. Make sure you have water shoes for the kids or shoes with backing, as they do check for them. Adults can wear flip flops. Entry people were very friendly and immediately let us know where the bathrooms were. We were shocked-- lots of water variety to explore! Go further back for the sprays and buckets suitable for younger ones. We only explored a quarter of the park, so we would definitely come back for a longer adventure day to burn some energy. The splash pads were very clean and there were plenty of plastic chairs in shade to grab and sit down on. The only downside were the bathrooms. There were 3 of 4 working stalls (toilet, sink, changing table) available, and inside the changing tables were so dirty. Have they ever been wiped? I guess I can't expect too much out of pool or park bathrooms, but definitely bring a changing pad or sheet because it was grimy. Great for kids to have lots of watery fun. Older kids have access to a dry park outside of the water park, in case you get stuck waiting in line. Plan for extra time to park and line up. Even when we left at 5, many were still in line waiting to get in! read more

I love this park!!! It's free and friendly! Park is kept clean and plenty of lifeguards to manage all the running kids and disturbing ones from the wet pad. Usually not busy after work and closes on time at 7 and 5 on Wednesdays. read more

Great place to take toddlers and small children!! There is plenty of room for children to play and get wet. The staff has always been professional and kind. There's plenty of chairs and places to sit in shade while the kids are playing. I think this is a great place to get the kids tired and play for a few hours. This place is very clean and has restrooms. TIP** Bring water shoes or closed toe shoes for the kids if you have them... (if not they do sell some) Other than that.... come out and enjoy a free place for kids to play and get tired!!! read more

This place is the best! It's only open between Memorial and Labor Day, but take advantage when it's open! There are tiny fountains for crawling/sitting babies, fun stuff for toddler, and lots of bigger kids and even tweens having a great time with the big stuff. There's nothing else around quite like this. You do need water shoes with heels - not flip-flops. There are only two bathrooms, adequately clean and a bit dim, and not a real changing room or anything. Everything is outdoors except the bathrooms. There are a few vending machines. There is also a cool-looking playground for the above-toddler ground just outside the gate. read more

Well it looked amazing but we got there today st 1030a and it was jammed. We waited for 15 min and only budged in line two people. There's a limit to number of people allowed in. Soooo we left and went to great waves on Eisenhower. Too bad. It looked amazing. Just the wait in the heat was too much for our little ones. read more

We went at 6:30 pm on Tuesday. They close at 7 pm. No crowd and tons of fun. Adults can use flip flops, babies that do not yet walk or stand don't need shoes but everyone else needs water shoes. As others have said, parking is a challenge. It was very clean and lots of variety in the sprays. When not crowded it was very nice and my 8 month old and her 16 month old cousin loved splashing around. If it were crowded I think it would be less fun. They did have a few chairs for adults under cover of shade, but only maybe 20-30. We will go back for sure and very sad to discover it just before the end of the summer. read more

So much fun for kids 5& under!! Free, clean, safe, plenty of room, and bathrooms nearby.

Love this sprayground. It's accessible for children and adults of all abilities. There are special wheelchairs and walkers available for use in the water. Bathrooms are handicap accessible as well (with a little bench and room for wheelchairs) read more

This place is huge. So many different areas for the kids to play. You definitely have to get in line early. We came about 20 minutes before it opened and there were about 20 people in line already on a Wednesday morning. By the time it actually opened, there were probably 100 people in line since they only let a certain number of people in at a time. There are chairs and shaded areas for parents to sit and once the kids are done, it's right next to the playground. read more

I loved this place! It was clean and plenty of restrooms. The adjoining playground is very nice and shaded! I was worried about parking but got there at about 10:30 on a Saturday and there were still plenty of spots! Best part is that it is free. My 3 year old has asked very times to go back, he loved it. read more