These crazy times of 2020 have given our family at least one upside: exploring all the wonderful spots in Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland!
It’s truly been eye opening all the incredible nature, playgrounds and locations our area has to offer! From National Monuments to Wetlands to Epic Playgrounds, below are our family’s favorites.
Go directly here to VIRGINIA and MARYLAND and the Google Map of all the Places Mentioned.
(And check out my full DC with Kids Guide with local mom tips on Smithsonians with Kids, Best Hotels with Kids and Best Places to Eat with Kids.)
Washington DC Socially Distanced with Kids
1. National Mall
2. The Wharf
3. Bishops Garden, Washington Cathedral
4. Macomb Recreation Playground, Cathedral Heights
5. National Building Museum, Murals that Matter (up until November)
6. Tidal Basin
7. Portrait Gallery Kogod Courtyard, Chinatown
8. Tudor Place, Georgetown
Virginia
9. Chestnut Hills Park, Arlington
10. Scotts Run Nature Park, McLean
11. Ever After Alpaca Farm, Broad Run
12. Mosaic Park, Arlington
13. Nall’s Produce, Alexandria (near Kingstowne)
14. Burke Lake Park, Fairfax Station
15. Monticello Park Challenge Course, Burke
16. Pohick Bay Regional Park, Lorton
17. Lake Accotink Park, Springfield
18. Riverfront, Old Town Alexandria
19. Shenandoah National Park
Shenandoah Hikes for Kids ✨ We ❤️ @shenandoahnps with kids, esp, at this time of year! This is probably the busiest couple of weeks of the season with the changing leaves, so 2 tips before my 3 hiking recs:
✔️ Check out the park’s Instagram to find out which parking lots are full for the day. (Don’t worry tho, Skyline Drive is 105 miles long with dozens of parking lots and pull over spots to see the views!)
✔️ Buy your entrance pass online ($30 per car) so you can avoid some of the lines at the entrance stations. Coming from DC for the day, I recommend Thornton Gap Entrance Station rather than Front Royal (a little less busy and you can go both north and south on Skyline)
KIDS HIKES/WALKS (Feel free to DM me if you want me to send you these links so they are clickable!)
1️⃣ Pinnacles Picnic Ground: The easiest spot we’ve found so far with kids. Park at Pinnacles parking lot just south of Thornton Gap Entrance Station. You can walk north or south on the real Appalachian Trail. Highly recommend the 0.3 mile walk to Jewell Hollow Overlook We brought hot dogs and charcoal for a picnic as they have fire pits. We last went this April so I am not sure the busyness level but stunning views!
2️⃣ Limberlost: Lovely walk through the forest on a fully accessible (STROLLER!) 1.3 mile trail. (Note: no sweeping views) The park’s website for the hike is here.
3️⃣ Dark Hollow Falls: My friend said this was a great one and she has prek and elementary age kids. Check out the Park’s website for this hike here.
P.s. I’ve found that actually the best sweeping 📷 s for kids are at the numerous overlooks. Many of the serious hikes will be very busy right now and some might be not at kid level.