Places to Go - Potomac Overlook Park (Arlington, VA)

I haven't posted lately on any local places to go, mainly because we've been frequenting old haunts more than new places. I need to change this. Last Friday, I took P, T, and a friend to Potomac Overlook Park; we hadn't visited in quite awhile and I almost forgot how much we love it here. A small playground sits right off the parking lot (with bathrooms and picnic tables and lots of trees). We had the whole place to ourselves and the kids insisted on eating their picnic lunches in the "treehouse."

After lunch, we meandered over to the nature center (which is about a 5 or 10 minute walk from the parking lot) and again we were the only visitors there. The upstairs of the nature center contains several displays and exhibits on energy, for my kids the highlights of which were a microscope and bees. The downstairs contains animals (snakes and turtles) and a small but nice kids' room called the "cave" where we spent over 45 minutes exploring and pretending.

After the nature center, we walked over to the birds of prey (a hawk and two owls) and the garden. Outside the garden a small pond contained dozens of frogs. So we sat for a long time, trying to find every one, which was oddly fun. The kids all proclaimed themselves "official frog finders" and ribetted as we walked/ran to the car. A great day.

If you're interested the nature center is open 10-5 Tuesday-Saturday and 12-5 on Sundays (closed Mondays). Every Sundays from 1:30 to 5:30 the park hosts special games, activities, and refreshments, no reservations required. And on certain Saturdays throughout the summer free concerts play on the park's outdoor stage. Click here for more information.

The main trail is stroller-friendly, but offshoot trails are not (by the way, there's no actual overlook, just so you know).



My camera battery died, so I had to iphone it. How many frogs can you find in the bottom picture?