Text the group chat! These gorgeous DC parks are perfect for your next warm-weather outing.
chance are , if you ’ve been living in DC for more than a hot minute , you ’re intimately acquainted with some of our well - known ballpark like Rock Creek Park ; DC ’s fundamental , and much wooded tract of commonwealth , Meridian Hill Park , where a weekend picnic is much a ritual of passage for living here ; and Lincoln Park , where grouping of booster , baby , and dogs gather in equal meter .
Along with these wide name and address , the city also has plenty of smaller , sometimes obscure , and certainly lesser - known outdoor gems to explore . For your next quick - weather hang , we ’ve rounded up a dozen spots around the city and ( and some beyond ) that make a peachy family base . Here are the coolest park , gardens , and public spaces for outdoor grouping hangs this time of year .
Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens
KenilworthThis sweeping park and aquatic gardens is one of the most unique space within DC . A walk along the pathway through the water garden will institute you past 500 - year - onetime lotus flowers , tropic lilies , turtles , dress hat , and about 250 species of birds . A visit during the park ’s Lotus and Water Lily Festival in July is a must , but fare on any other weekend for a more peaceful stroll through this really hidden gem .
Dumbarton Oaks
GeorgetownThis property with more than fifty Accho is home to a Harvard University enquiry institute , a library and museum , and stunning , historic garden and grounds plan by acclaimed landscape designer , Beatrix Farrand . While you will need a just the ticket to get to the evidence ( $ 7 ) , you may expend minute exploring every street corner and flower bottom . Dumbarton Oaks is rest home to many flowering cherry red and plum trees as well as vibrant forsythias and other plants , as well as art induction , and open stretchability of lawn to slug aside an good afternoon with friends or a good book of account .
Glenstone
Potomac , MarylandA forty - five - instant campaign out of the District that ’s worth the trip and then some , Glenstone is an expansive , futuristic sculpture commons where you could while away the 24-hour interval . all destitute ( advanced ticket enrollment uncommitted and they go for walk - ups who come in by bus ) , the park boasts over 300 - estate to wander , pushover , and stroll with friends . Take in the innovative art , sculpture , and architecture , and bask the unobstructed capable landscape painting . In accession , Glenstone sport indoor art gallery spaces and a minimalist chic cafe with a seasonally - focused carte .
Bishop’s Garden
Cathedral HeightsTucked away outside of the National Cathedral , this endearing fence in garden was design by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. , who in the early twentieth century , was one of the run force task to interpret what L’Enfant envisioned for the capital . inspire by medieval fence gardens and to begin with intended as a private space accessible only from the Bishop ’s sign on the Cathedral grounds , class after it was construct , the garden opened to the world but continues to be one of DC ’s best keep on secrets . The infinite features historical and aboriginal plants .
Enid A. Haupt Garden
National MallThis four - acre , blossom - satiate garden is locate behind the Smithsonian Castle and stretches to Independent Avenue , volunteer a hushed space to chill out just steps from the National Mall . While saunter through the garden ’s three section — the Parterre , Moongate Garden , and Fountain Garden — you might be surprised to memorize that you ’re actually walking through a big roof garden spanning the top of the National Museum of African Art , the National Museum of Asian Art , and the S. Dillon Ripley Center - International Gallery .
Hillwood Estate
Forest HillsThe vast Hillwood Estate is the former rest home of Marjorie Merriweather Post ( of Post cereal ) , where she used it as a private abode for two decades . The estate opened to the public in 1977 and is now an talkative and flowery oasis at the top of the city . Donation - based admission grants you get at to the twenty - five - Akka property brim with flowers , schematic garden , an open lawn , a greenhouse split with orchids , and an outside coffeehouse . This is a perfect spot to lie out a field day mantle and admire the position . Do n’t forget to take a tour around the house while you ’re there — Post was a consummate aggregator of Fabergé egg , Romanov artistic production , silver , and more .
Lady Bird Johnson Park
Columbia IslandThis flower - fill island park runs along the banks of the Potomac . The park is named for Lady Bird Johnson , the former First Lady who worked to transform America ’s landscape , preserve the country ’s natural beauty , and recognize the US ’s bang-up outdoors as a national treasure worth celebrating . Lady Bird received a Presidential Medal of Freedom for her efforts and a share of Columbia Island was named in her honour back in 1968 . Since then , it has been a resort from the ado of Arlington and DC , and offers spectacular prospect of the Mall .
Meadowlark Botanical Gardens
Vienna , VAAnother green space deserving venturing out of metropolis limits for , Meadowlark Botanical Gardens put up 95 - Acre that admit around 30 formal garden , a lake , and woodland trails . The garden is best bed for its Korean Bell Garden , which is one of the only bell gardens in the Western Hemisphere , and a ethnical watershed . Tickets to confab the garden are $ 6 .
Mitchell Park
KaloramaThis postage - stamp sized ballpark in the midriff of Kalorama is a green square of respite in the otherwise busy vicinity . After year of descent , the park undergo a major fundraising effort — and archeological dig — before reopening to the public in 2004 as an oasis with nearly 25,000 plantings ( tree , shrub , flowers , etc . ) . Mitchell Park remains an “ if you know , you know ” bit for picnics and peaceful hang . In the summer , you could also ask programing like moving picture screening .
Rawlins Park
Foggy BottomPerhaps the small commons on our list , Rawlins Park is a secret green infinite behind the U.S. Office of Personnel Management ( how ’s that for secret glamour ? ) . Comprising less than half a city block of special K , the ballpark abuts a work bench - lined fountain and statue of Civil War hero , General John A. Rawlins . The daub especially sings in the early springiness when its magnolia trees are abloom ( on average , around two weeks before the district ’s more famouscherry flower ) .
Tudor Place
GeorgetownThe garden at Tudor Place is so tucked away you may have walk through the vicinity without knowing it ’s there . Although just five - and - a - half acres in size , the garden feels like a public unto itself . The grounds are split up into two parts : a more schematic European - style garden with topiary and civilize rose , and a slopping lawn that , thanks to the garden ’s localization , offer sweeping view out over the metropolis . The garden , which has been cultivated for over two hundred years , is a wonderful place to see what ’s seasonally in salad days and to admire historic varietal wine of boxwoods and shrub . Admission is free , just check in at the Visitor Desk upon arrival .
U.S. National Arboretum
NortheastDCHanging outdoors does n’t get more idealistic than in DC ’s expansive arboretum . The 446 - acre green is home to varied landscape painting made for strolling , lounging , and delight the peach of the daylight . Wander through the arboretum ’s more courtly quad such as the Japanese Woodland , Azalea Hillside , or China Valley , or picnic beneath the Capitol Columns and surround open meadows . And if you ’re craving a more alive bent , there are 9.5 mile of paseo to explore . domestic dog and bikes are welcome .
Bishop’s Garden|Photo courtesy of Washington National Cathedral
Photo courtesy of U.S. National Park Service
Photo by Spencer Lenfield, courtesy of Dumbarton Oaks
Photo courtesy of Washington National Cathedral
Photo by Erik Kvalsvik, courtesy of Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens
Photo courtesy of Meadowlark Botanical Gardens
