Swingin' Spots

By Amy Joyce
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 5, 2008

For children, the playground is an adventure. A new experience with magical elements ("Wow! That's the biggest tree in the whole world!" exclaimed one boy recently at a Cabin John park). The seemingly ordinary moments of exploration -- digging, climbing, swinging -- that begin to shape the person that child will become.

For parents, it's an escape from the same old back yard or the confined spaces of a small, yardless city house. Even more: "This is our social life," Beth Scofield said as she sat at a sunny picnic table at Washington's Stanton Park with her friend Cameron Taylor. Both work from home. Both spend parts of their days at the playground. And both, on this sunny Friday morning, had happy kids bouncing from grass to slide to animals on springs.

With hundreds of playgrounds to choose from in Maryland, Virginia and the District, everyone has their favorites. Not a comprehensive list by any means, this is a sampling of several that are worth a look, whether they are in your neighborhood or to be saved for that crisp, fall nothing's-planned Saturday afternoon.

Maryland

In the world of playgrounds, Centennial Park (10000 State Route 108, Ellicott City) is a doozy.

That's because not only are there three playgrounds waiting to be climbed on, hidden in or danced around, but also the park has many things to do, so you can spend an entire day here.

Chris Hudgens was at the South Area playground on a recent weekday with his 3-year-old daughter, Bailey. With a climbing wall, nine slides for toddlers and older children, monkey bars, swinging steps and that wonderful squishy rubber ground cover, the South Area playground is a colorful haven sure to tire out little ones.

Although it was her first time at this playground, Bailey was a brave bundle of energy, scrambling across swinging bridges and up a climbing wall, keeping her dad nearby with a watchful eye and steady hands.

"I tempted her away from Chick-fil-A by saying we're going to a real playground," he says.

Dawn Hood, a full-time nanny for four siblings, comes here from their Federal Hill home in Baltimore. They park by the boat ramp and walk over, then usually eat a picnic. By the time they get back to the house, the kids pretty much pass out. A nanny's dream.

My toddler, Sam, had a blast walking up the steps of the climbing structure, watching the rowdy day-camp kids with their water balloons and listening to a 9-year-old jamming on a guitar. Then we traveled down the path to watch the geese in the water near the boats. Yes, you can rent those, but only during the summer months. Don't fret. There are plenty of other options, including fishing. Or hiking or biking on the trails, or picnicking, or grilling or . . . well, you get the idea.

If you're looking for a magical playground, you can find it at Cabin John Regional Park (7400 Tuckerman Lane, Rockville).

It seems like a wood nymph will hop out of a hollow tree at any minute at this adventure playground. The 528-acre park is a surprise oasis from the nearby traffic, housing developments and shopping malls.

With playground equipment for toddlers and older kids, there is little room to be bored. But like at Centennial Park, this huge area requires rapt attention by parents, particularly on busy weekends, when kids can easily disappear from view.

Imaginations were in full swing on a recent weekday, when several children were lined up to "drive" a wooden train, play in the mini, maze-like house structure ("Let's play like we're dogs!" one little girl yelled to her friend) and play in a "band" on drum and chime-like equipment (meant to be banged on). Bucket and regular swings, slides and climbing equipment kept children, and parents, busy. One couple had the right idea. They sat in camping chairs, taking turns reading the newspaper, while their daughter took her turn at the taller slides.

A short walk away is the real gem of the park: the miniature train, which runs on weekends through October.

The train takes a load of kids, parents, friends, nannies and the wonderful train conductor ("All aboard!" he yells before we chug out of the station) every half-hour or so on a loop past the playground and through the woods. Every time the train passes the playground, children jump off swings and run from the slide line to run over and wave.

After the train ride, I spied children rummaging through their mothers' purses for any remnant of garbage. Why? So they could hear a pig-shaped garbage can snort when they threw trash in its mouth. (It truly is the little things that make a day special.)

Erika Huyck, a teacher in Gaithersburg, was there recently with James, her 14-month-old, and several other teacher pals before the start of school. "He loves it here," she said about their first visit. So where does she usually go? "Our neighborhood playground."

She's not the only one . . .

The District

The thing about the District's playgrounds is that, for the most part, you go where you live, often because it is an extension of your house. For us, it's Kalorama Park (bucket swings, decent sandboxes, two playgrounds for two age groups; Columbia and Kalorama roads NW) or Pierce Park (good shade, varied equipment, but sometimes too many mosquitoes; Adams Mill Road and Ontario Place NW). The playgrounds are just a few blocks from our small Adams Morgan rowhouse. And with a 14-month-old in a house with a little patio and very little space inside to play, a playground is a necessity. There, other moms, dads and caregivers talk teething, ask about first words and wonder how to teach Zach to share his sandbox toys. So it works as a social gathering, too.

Stanton Park, (C Street between Fourth and Sixth streets NE) on Capitol Hill is also one of those playgrounds. I always wondered about this park, tucked in a traffic circle off Massachusetts Avenue. I was immediately greeted with chalked "Start!" and "Finish!" lines on the sidewalk, signs of a race around the Nathanael Greene (a Revolutionary War major general) statue. The playground, complete with a cushy rubber ground cover, bouncy seesaw, small climbing wall, slides, benches, picnic tables, grass and shade, was buzzing with pre-lunch activity. "It's convenient. People get to know all the parents," says Beth Scofield, whose 5-year-old, Sadie, and 3-year-old, Lanham, were winding down, almost ready for a nap. Cameron Taylor, mother of four children (Lindsay, 16 months; Duncan and Gordon, 3-year-old twins; Kylie, 5) agreed. "Houses are small on the Hill. So if you want to get the kids out from destroying the house, or you just want to get out and socialize, you come here."

The other park they frequent? Marion Park, just a few blocks away, at E Street and South Carolina Avenue SE.

Virginia

If sand is your thing, then Chestnut Hills Park (North Harrison and 27th streets) should be on your list. The Arlington playground has a massive sandbox (big enough that Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh could happily spike a few balls there), loads of push toys left for little feet to move, two large play areas, bucket and regular swings, paved paths, four climbing structures, two wooden houses, water fountains and a hose (or shall we say mud) area that, on a recent Saturday, 2-year-old Grayson Kidwell had discovered, much to his mother's good-humored dismay.

"We come here two or three times a month," Alice Kidwell said as she unpacked a lunch. Grayson usually spends his time there in the sand with the many sand toys left for anyone to use.

A little farther out, in Fairfax City, is Van Dyck Park (3500 Old Lee Hwy.). There is a variety of play structures, slides, swings, a climbing wall and even some retro playground equipment (think: metal spring ride-on toys and two seats with shovels attached so kids can move sand like the real guys do with construction equipment). The playground is next to a skate park that left Sam and other small ones with mouths agape as they watched teenagers showing off their skills on metal ramps.

And then there's the little issue of what Van Dyck park might be best known for: its wonderful farmers market every Tuesday from 8 a.m. to noon through Oct. 28. A recent visit landed us with juicy peaches, sweet corn and a scrumptious blueberry muffin for the drive back to Washington.