Washington, D.C. isn’t just the U.S. capital: it also boasts over 30 national parks within its borders, each with their own sights and experiences.
According to the Trust for Public Land, 99 percent of D.C. residents live a 10 minutes’ walk or less from a park—compare that to the national median of 55 percent. Some 24 percent of the acreage in the nation’s capital is given over to parks and recreation, compared with the U.S. median of 15 percent.
With close to 700 parks overall within its bounds and a slew of other fabulous ones within the broader metro area, Washington, D.C. is an easy place, needless to say, to get outside and enjoy some fresh air and greenspace therapy.
Rock Creek Park
- Address: 5200 Glover Rd NW, Washington, D.C. (Rock Creek Nature Center)
Crown jewel of D.C.’s park system, 1,754-acre Rock Creek Park offers a fantastic recreational experience right in the heart of the city. Hugging the namesake tributary of the Potomac River, this greenspace is a National Register of Historic Places-listed landmark that dates back to 1890. You’ll find more than 30 miles of multiuse trails in the National Park Service-administered park, including roughly a dozen miles of bridle paths, with wonderful hiking, jogging, biking and horseback riding.
You can also practice your swing on the 18-hole golf course, refine your serve on the tennis courts, catch a concert at the Carter Barron Amphitheatre and explore the interpretive exhibits within the Rock Creek Nature Center, which also includes the only planetarium within the National Park System.
The United States Botanic Garden
- Address: 100 Maryland Ave SW, Washington, D.C.
The oldest continuously running public garden in the country, the United States Botanic Garden was established way back in 1820 and has occupied its current position on the U.S. Capitol grounds since 1933. Its roots go back further yet: None other than George Washington himself envisioned the nation’s capital including a botanic garden as an educational and interpretive institution.
From the indoor luxuriance of the Conservatory to the lovely outdoor gardens and fountain of Bartholdi Park, here's a floral fantasyland to enjoy all year-round.
West Potomac Park
- Address: 2912 Independence Ave SW, Washington, D.C.
Linking two world-famous landmarks—the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial—alongside the Tidal Basin, West Potomac Park is one of the top parks to visit in Washington, D.C., encompassing as it does some of the most iconic real estate in the city. Other defining attractions here include the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and Korean War Veterans Memorial, not to mention the celebrated cherry trees along the Tidal Basin that form the springtime centerpiece of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.
Meridian Hill Park
- Address: 16th St. & W St. NW, Washington, D.C.
Once host to a 19th-century mansion that served as President John Quincy Adams’ home, Meridian Hill Park—also widely known as Malcolm X Park—is a beloved gathering place in Northwest D.C.’s Columbia Heights neighborhood. Marvel at the stunning cascading fountain and reflecting pool as well as the James Buchanan Memorial and striking statues of Joan of Arc, Dante Alighieri and others.
The Yards Park
- Address: 355 Water St., Washington, D.C.
This waterfront magnet offers handsomely landscaped frontage along the Anacostia River. Parkgoers are greeted by the charming Dancing Fountains at the entrance—that light up at night—and admire river views from shaded bistro seating. Cross the Canal Basin between the Great Lawn and the Overlook via the Yards Park Bridge to check out the 60-foot Light Tower and stroll the Boardwalk, part of the Anacostia Riverfront Trail.
Lincoln Park on Capitol Hill
- Address: 11th & E Capitol St. NE, Washington, D.C.
The largest of the Capitol Hill Parks in Washington, D.C., Lincoln Park pays tribute to two great leaders in the nation’s emancipation and Civil Rights movements. Host to Lincoln Hospital during the Civil War, the site turned into a park space in 1869, named Lincoln Square in honor of President Abraham Lincoln, who had been slain only a few years before.
Among the first monuments to Lincoln, the so-called Emancipation Monument, was erected here the following decade. The park also includes a statue of the hugely influential Civil Rights advocate Mary McLeod Bethune.
Great Falls Park
- Address: 9200 Old Dominion Dr. McLean, VA
Many visitors flock to Washington, D.C. and its surrounds to enjoy historical monuments and memorials, unaware that the metro area also includes some genuine natural wonders. Only 15 miles or so from downtown D.C., Great Falls Park showcases the most spectacular one: the Great Falls of the Potomac River, which plunge and cascade some 76 feet in less than a mile as they hurtle through a magnificent rock garden toward the Mather Gorge.
The National Mall
- Address: Between Constitution & Independence Ave SW, Washington, D.C.
Unspooling more than two miles between the U.S. Capitol and the Washington Monument and adjoining West Potomac Park and Constitution Gardens, the National Mall—aka “America’s Front Yard”—includes some of the foremost attractions in the city. Those include such Smithsonian Institution museums as the National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of the American Indian, National Air & Space Museum and the Sackler and Freer galleries constituting the National Museum of Asian Art. Throw in the signature sightlines and adjoining monuments and it’s no surprise this is the most visited unit of the National Park System.
United States National Arboretum
- Address: 3501 New York Ave NE, Washington, D.C.
Visual splendor aplenty awaits at the U.S. National Arboretum, as it has since back in 1927. The 451-acre grounds include botanical and arboreal delights all across the calendar, from the ravishing azalea blooms of spring to the gnarled miniature trees of the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum and the native eastern plantlife of Fern Valley.
A must-see installation, soaring from the Arboretum’s Ellipse Meadow, is the stately cluster of the National Capitol Columns, which studded the U.S. Capitol building’s East Portico for more than a century.
East Potomac Park
- Address: Ohio Drive SW, Washington, D.C.
Set on an artificial island between the Washington Channel and the Potomac River, East Potomac Park serves up fine city views and cherry-blossom spectacles alongside a plethora of recreational offerings, among them trails, golf courses, an Olympic-size outdoor swimming pool, sports fields and a tennis center. The park includes the island’s south end, Hains Point, where the Potomac, Washington Channel and Anacostia River join; this is a famed birdwatching site.
Montrose Park
- Address: 3052 R St. NW, Washington, D.C.
Perched on the heights above Rock Creek, Montrose Park comes bordered by Oak Hill Cemetery and the Dumbarton Oaks Gardens. It occupies the grounds of a historic estate, some original landscaping features of which—including the Ropewalk and the Boxwood Garden—remain parkland fixtures. Other draws include tennis courts, walking paths and a playground.
Constitution Gardens
- Address: Constitution Ave NW, Washington, D.C.
Some of the loveliest views in D.C. can be found within Constitution Gardens, which adjoins the National mall. Here, vistas of the Washington Monument come framed by weeping willows and the still waters of a serene pond. An isle within that pond harbors stones with the engraved names and signatures of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Anacostia Park
- Address: 1900 Anacostia Dr. SE, Washington, D.C.
Crowd-pleasing Anacostia ranks among the best parks in Washington, D.C. when it comes to recreational and family activities. A destination for boating and fishing on the Anacostia River—and a fine place to stroll courtesy of the 3.5-mile Anacostia Riverwalk Trail—Anacostia Park also includes a roller-skating rink in the Anacostia Skating Pavilion, the Langston Golf Course and the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens.
Then there’s the Anacostia Recreation Center, which boasts an outdoor pool, indoor fitness center, playground, sports field and basketball and tennis courts.
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