Clemyjontri Park

Clemyjontri Park

 

Location: 6317 Georgetown Pike McLean, VA 22101 


Park Website

Metro: no convenient Metro access

My Opinion:

Features:

This park is huge!  In some ways it's actually a little too big.  We always feel the need to move on to the next area in order to fit it all in.   Also, keeping an eye on multiple kids is tricky.  Everything is very spread out, so even moving two or three activities away from each other is enough to put too much distance between parent and child..  Clemyjontri pretty much has everything you'd expect a playground to have, and lots of stuff you don't see in most parks.  There's also a carousel, but we don't usually ride it - I'd rather spend my money on the one at Glenn Echo.

What's Unique:

From the park's website: "CLEMYJONTRI PARK features a unique playground where children of all abilities can play side-by-side. It is a playground where every child is welcome.  This park is a place where children who use wheelchairs, walkers or braces, or who have sensory or developmental disabilities, can have a parallel playground experience of fun and exploration."


So that's pretty cool.

All the balancing activities have bars on either side.  Nice for kids that are still working on balance and need a little help.

I also thought this was pretty cool for little ones working on balance.  It starts at about a foot wide and tapers to about six inches.

We thought this was fun.  The bars spin like pedals on a bike so you can keep "climbing" up up up while staying safely near the ground.  A little tricky to coordinate hands and feet though... maybe kids are btter at it than adults.

 A lot of the monkey bars and rings are shorter what you see on most playgrounds.  Even my four year old could jump up to grab on and felt comfortable without me right there to catch him.

 The big kid area is almost like a maze there are so many bridges, platforms at different levels, and slides.  This big kid had fun running around on it too!

 Both my kids shouted "It's an airplane!" when they saw this.  Actually, I think it's a helicopter, but the ramps on either side look like wings.  Regardless, they had fun pretending to fly it and climbing all over it.  Notice the different colored landing pad as well.  The whole playground is covered in colored rubber surfacing, and a lot of these designs add to the fun.

 Like this!  We had some fun races on this multi-colored race track with checkerboard finish line.  There are lots of car themed things to climb on in this area, but nothing that actually moves.  Skateboards, scooters, and bikes, are not allowed in the park, so it will have to be foot races on this track.  A little disappointing since the rubber surface also includes a road complete with traffic circle and road signs - seems like this would make a good place to safely ride or skate, but again you'll just have to walk the road.  My kids weren't interested.

This was probably our favorite spot on the playground.  After wandering through the first time and finding our way out, I stood at the exit and timed the kids to see how quickly they could get through.

Another nice feature of the maze is that some of the panels have something for kids to learn from (like a US map) or some sort of activity (like gears to turn or a tic-tac-toe board).

This rainbow seems like a gateway to the sing area.  There are a variety of swings, some with backs and harnesses, one with two benches that just sways back and forth, and the typical big kid and baby swings.

The rainbow is fun to play on too, but my kids weren't able to climb up very far.  Maybe bigger kids would be able to get to the top.

Restrooms:Yes - nice restrooms and drinking fountain on the parking lot side of the playground.

Sun/Shade: Sunny!  As my daughter said on the ride home form our last visit, "Daddy, there is no shade at that park."  There are some small trees that will eventually grow into some nice shade tress...  for your children's children. There are also some umbrella type structures around the playground, but they don't cover anything that the kids want to play on - good for parents seeking refuge from the sun, but no good if you actually want to get out on the playground to play with your kids.  Go early in the morning. 

Surface:
Springy rubber surface on the whole playground helps avoid hard falls and skinned knees.  

Enclosure: the playground is not fully enclosed

Nearby:

A right on Georgetown Pike and then another right onto Dolley Madison Blvd (Rt. 123) will take you into the heart of McLean where you'll find a Safeway, Papa Johns, McDonald's, and more. 

Jazz in the Sculpture Garden

Jazz in the Sculpture Garden

 

Location: 700 Constitution Ave NW

Metro: 
Archives/Navy Memorial - .2 miles (Green/Yellow)
Federal Triangle - .6 miles (Orange/Blue)
Judiciary Square - .5 miles (Red)

Park Website

My Opinion:

Features:

OK, so technically this is not a playground.  But when it comes to getting outside for some fun with your kids, Jazz in the Sculpture Garden is not to be missed.  My kids love this, so I think it's worth including here.  They love the music, dipping their feet in the fountain, having a picnic, dancing...  what's not to love? 

Every Friday night during the summer, the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden hosts a variety of jazz artists.  The music starts at 5:00, and the area fills up pretty quickly.   People sit on the edge of the fountain, spread blankets under the trees, and dance around the band.  The band is always facing the pavilion rather than the fountain, but if you try to stand on the stairway to watch, you'll get shooed away by a guard.  Your best best is to find a comfortable place for a picnic and just enjoy the music even if you can't see the show.  Then walk over closer to the band when the kids are ready to dance.

Check their website to find out who is playing and what style of jazz will be featured.

Restrooms:Yes

Restrooms are located behind the pavilion.  Be ready for a long line.

Sun/Shade:
If you're on the opposite side of the fountain from the stage you'll be in full sun until later in the evening.   There's lots of space under the trees, but plan on getting there early.

Nearby:

There are beverages for sale in the pavilion and at a couple little stands around the fountain.  Signs discourage you from bringing your own, but most picnickers don't seem discouraged at all.  Honestly, I never bothered with any restaurants in the area - better to stay in the sculpture garden and enjoy the music.  Just bring your own food.

Guy Mason Recreation Center

Guy Mason Recreation Center

 

Location: 3600 Calvert St., NW Washington, DC 20007

Metro: 

Tenley Town - 1.9 miles
Dupont Circle - 2 miles
Rosslyn - 2 miles 

I'd go with Rosslyn since it's a nicer walk across Key Bridge and through Georgetown

Park Website

My Opinion:

 Features:

The playground has everything you'd expect, slides, stuff to climb on, swings, a teeter-totter, and a nice sandbox.  It was upgraded about a year ago.  The original equipment is still there, but they've added some nice new things to play with.
 

What's Unique:

One of the most popular features is the tube the connects two sections of the playground.  It's only about eight feet long, but kids seem to love it.  For little ones, it's a bridge between the smaller play area and a higher section - a place little kids wouldn't be able to get to if not for this cool blue connector.  The tube has port holes every couple feet, so parents can peek in on kids, or reach in a try to surprise them as they crawl through.

There's also a track-like set of monkey bars.  Rather than a series of bars that kids need to swing between, there are just two parallel bars that kids can slide their hands along.  Nice for little arms that aren't long enough to reach form one bar to the next.

This playground was nice before it was expanded - now it's great.  The area that was once just a pile of sand is now a great sandbox boarded by a bridge and a wooden house that seems to double as a lemonade stand for some kids.  Like most playgrounds, the sandbox if full of toys, some a little worse for wear after being outside all the time.

My favorite part of the playground is a circle of stepping stones.  They're made out of a material similar to the rubbery surface some playgrounds have covering the ground, and are spaced just far enough apart of be challenging for kids of all sizes.  

There's also a music area with a xylophone and drums.  

There  used to be a very cool spinning cup that kids could sit in.  It was at a slight angle so by rocking back and forth, kids could really get it spinning.  Unfortunately, the last time I there, the cup had been replace by an orange cone.  Hopefully it will return soon - it was a big hit and on busy days a line would form.


Restrooms:Yes

There are restrooms in the recreation center, but because the center is not always open when we're at the park, we usually just walk to the nearby Whole Foods if there's an emergency.

Sun/Shade: There are large trees around the outside of the playground and another large tree in the center, so part of the playground is shady no matter what time of day.

Surface: Wood chips

Enclosure: The playground is not fully enclosed.  There's a fence the two sides that border a street.  The other two sides have fences for a basketball court and a baseball diamond, but there are wide stretches between with not fence, and there are stairs leading to Wisconsin Ave with not gate.  That said, there's a lot of green space around the playground and I always feel like I'm able to keep an eye on my kids. 

Nearby:

There's a Whole Foods right next to the park.  They have a great food bar and  brick pizza oven if you need something quick for lunch or a snack.  A little farther down Wisconsin on the opposite side there's a CVS and a Starbucks.  Rocklands BBQ is right across Wisconsin from the park - yep, that's where that amazing smell is coming from.  There are a few other restaurants right in that area, and father north on Wisconsin you'll find Cafe Deluxe and Cactus Cantina, both pretty kid friendly.