McLean Central Park (McLean, VA)

After a busy morning running errands, I owed Adam some park time.   We had been at Tysons and I reluctantly resigned myself to heading towards Clemyjontri, when we spied this park.  “Look mom!  Let’s go to that playground!” Adam cried.  “Anything to avoid Clemyjontri”, I thought, and readily turned in.

The playground is visible from the intersection of Dolley Madison Blvd. (Rte 123) and Old Dominion Dr.  Access to the playground,  by turning off of Dolley Madison onto Ingleside Ave.  Then bear left onto Oak Ridge Ave. and park in the Dolley Madison Library parking lot.   At the back of the lot, you will see a paved path in the woods, with a sign, pointing towards the playground.

The paved path was perfect for Adam to ride his glider on.

Before we got to the park, we stopped off and checked out the lovely covered gazebo — it can be rented for functions and is also used for a  summer concert series, but was empty when we got there.

Then, we moved on to the playground.   It is a cute little play area, clearly designed for the younger crowd.

It has a couple of train-themed play structures.

There’s also another small play structure with slides.

While it’s nothing fancy, my kiddo had a blast playing with some other kids.   They pretended they were on a ship and used the “telescope” to look for pirates, then ran to chase them away.

Other playground features include:

A swingset with two bucket swings and two baby swings

A small playhouse and two rocker horses.

We arrived around lunchtime, and half of the park was in full sun, but there were still some shady areas to play.  The park is surrounded by mature trees, so I expect it has decent morning shade.

There are no bathroom facilities in the park, but the library has some if it is open.  It was closed for renovations when were there but is slated to re-open this summer.

All in all, I found this to be a cute little park that is great for younger kids.

Looking for more places to play? Check out my reviews of other Playgrounds, Parks, and Play Areas in Arlington and the greater Metro DC area.