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!

This small park is a gem! It has a playground area with swings, slides, and different playscapes…read more The park has a walking trail (paved although could use a bit of work), tennis court, portable restroom, parking lot, and sports field!

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.

Decent park. I believe it's about 15 acres in size. For Arlington County it's quite big. My…read morefavorite part is the jogging path. Good pavement for busted up joints. It's helpful for a quick jog. Also you'll see wildlife such as deer. There is a small amphitheater. Also little ones will like the playground. It's nothing extensive but it works. Usually can park here with ease. Is it worth driving miles for? No but it works if you are close by, as basketball and tennis courts are available.

Neighborhood park with lots of trees and a playground, baseball diamond, tennis courts, very small…read moreamphitheater, and a small unpaved dirt/gravel nature trail. The nature trail isn't bad a for a neighborhood park but you're close to Lee Highway and Sycamore street so of course there's lots of traffic noise. This park isn't worth going across town just to visit but it's a nice place if you're in the area or live nearby and are looking to get a few steps for your Fitbit.

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

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.

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.

Lovely little park with so much shade! But make sure to put on repellent during warmer weather. The…read moretoddler section is fenced, the school-age area has a spinning seat and a taller slide with climbing equipment. The swing set has infant seats which is great if you have crawlers. One of my gripes is that the sections are a little spread so when I had my infant in the swing, the toddler was on the slide so you didn't have a great view on the playgrounds. Minor things but nothing serious. Keep in mind that this park is street parking only and no restrooms.

It's a reprieve. Even if for a few minutes, appreciate the greenery. Lots of trees here make it…read morepleasant. When living/commuting in a busy area, please take a break. This parks name is appropriate. If in area worth it, but don't drive out of your way. Thank goodness for this park. There's not a lot to do here, but just get recalibrated for the day. Small children will like the playground. It's quite decent. Parking and the area are pleasant.

This place is such a gem!! We absolutely love it. The staff is soooo friendly, helpful and…read moreknowledgeable. We are so lucky to have this near our house. My kids love visiting all the animals, the turtles, snakes and bearded dragon are the favorites! W elige that they have a pretty big variety of toys available to play with and the dress up options are always a hit! It's a great place to visit during the winter and rainy days! But also so fun when the weather is great and you can walk around the trails. The only downside is the limited parking, but if weather is good the parking by the playground makes it a fun all morning adventure!

This such an incredible gem for families and nature lovers a like!…read more 1) Trails are easy to navigate and you will almost always see some type of wildlife whether it is butterflies, bugs, or deer. 2) The recently renovated playground is large and accessible for both small and big kids. There is a covered shelter nearby which makes it the perfect spot for a birthday party. 3) The nature center is a great place to explore on cold or rainy days. You can see turtles, a bearded dragon, play with toys in a little nature nook that looks like it came straight out of the Berenstein Bears, or climb up and down their little play structure. The people who work here are extremely friendly and the price for all of this is Free 99. 4) They host field trips and birthday parties that are fun and informative for kids and adults alike. My three year old STILL talks about the frog who peed on the floor last year at her class presentation. We are so lucky to have a gem like this in our area.

Begrudgingly, I am rating Lake Fairfax with 4 stars. Let me preface by saying I am not an…read more"outdoor-sy" type of gal. Spas and sparkling rosé...more my speed, but I am always up for different experiences. Having said that...I've experienced it, and umm...with mosquito bites still itching, this was cool...not sure if I would say, "yes" again. While he set up the tents, I went to grab a margarita. Upon my return, I was impressed with the setup. Who knew camping could be "chic"? lol. After sending my daughter pics, she said it was, "glamping," not "camping." Lol Honestly, I enjoyed. Just hated the bugs. I love to read. If you do too, bring a good book. The camping ground is spacious. You're assigned a lot where you set up your tent(s). Seems like he had the entire gamut -- blow up couch, blow up bed, portable grill, speakers for music, bug repellent, food, and libations ;-) You will hear everything that is nature at night. I swear I heard a fox howling/barking. All-in-all, it was a cool experience...five days later, still itching from those bites. Oh! There's a water park too...arrive early to get in because they do have a capacity limit.

Wayyyyy back in the day, my dad bought a RV, and the one place that I can explicitly remember us…read moregoing, was Lake Fairfax Park. I also remember having a great time on the lake paddle boating and swimming in the big "L" shaped pool. Fast forward decades later, I have taken a liking to camping. I still consider myself a novice, and over the last 3yrs, I have accumulated some cool stuff. I have an annual camping trip with a large group next month, but I wanted to do a small intimate trip to one of my favorite childhood places. I must say, Lake Fairfax has one big change from when I was a child. It now has a HUGE waterpark that has giganic water slides as soon as you enter. I was a little disappointed to hear from the check-in Park attendant, who had the personality of a disinterested teenager, that the L shaped pool I referenced was no longer there. My picture of laying poolside or chillin in the pool were shattered, because with waterparks, comes tons and tons of young kids.. and honestly, I would just rather not..LOL! Once we made it to our assigned camping lot, I was super pleased at how close we were to the extremely clean rest rooms that were equipped with showers. The camping site was noticeably quiet, almost library quiet, so that suprised me a little. I didn't want to disrupt the flow, so I kept my speaker at a low level. :) All in all, I had a memorable experience at Lake Fairfax Park and I can definitely see myself coming back sometime next Spring/Summer!!