Silver Spring, Maryland has a wonderful paved trail along Sligo Creek Parkway. It’s perfect for walking, scootering, pushing a stroller, etc. There are a lot of playgrounds along the path and various free parking offerings. Parts of Sligo Creek Parkway close to vehicle traffic on the weekends, so I’ve noted where I know that to be the case. Unfortunately, bathrooms are hard to come by for these parks. And many kids, including my own, do play in some sections of the creek, but from one parent to another, please always do your own due diligence on the water conditions.
- Sligo Dennis Park – One of the newest parks along Sligo Creek Parkway and the equipment is orange and blue. This one is great for climbers and is set-up like an obstacle course. It’s along the creek and you can play in the water here. There is a small parking lot and on the weekends, it’s blocked by the road closure, so you have to park off Dennis and walk.
- Hillwood Manor Neighborhood Park – This playground is also newer and is tucked into the end of a neighborhood by a low spot in the creek. It’s neighborhood street parking. There are two play structures and I appreciate that the tall one is enclosed. This is a good one to pair with a trip to to Aldi and Lidl off New Hampshire Avenue and is on the Takoma Park end of Sligo Creek Parkway.
- Blue Park, I mean Dale Drive Neighborhood Park – This is a popular park often referred to as “blue park” because of the ground covering. My daughter loves the rope climbing structure here and it for sure makes me nervous. There’s also a pirate ship for littles, a see saw and some other small structures. There’s a big field nearby and access to the creek. Be mindful of the rocks as they do get slippery. There’s a small parking lot here off Dale Drive or you can park by the tennis courts on Sligo Creek and walk over. If you don’t mind walking a bit of a hill, pop up to Love and Flour bakery with treats and espresso drinks (it looks a little different now than my IG pics that are linked). You can also do a double park and walk about 8 minutes to Nolte Local Park which has quite a bit of shade in comparison to Dale Drive.
- Sligo Creek Stream Valley Park – This is another newer park with two zip lines and access to the creek. The park is blue and green and nearly full sun. My daughter loves the zip line here and there’s also an accessible zip line. There are swings and a great climbing structure with slides. There’s also a smaller structure. This is located in a section that’s closed on the weekends, starting sometime on Friday evening (last time we were there it had signs by the small parking lot). You can also use the map to park in a nearby neighborhood and walk here such as Kennebec or Houston Ave.
- Sligo-Bennington Park – This park has three separate structures but the best part is you can take a short walk to Zinnia’s for a treat or espresso drink (bring a penny for the wishing well). There is a wooden playground and my daughter loves the rings for the monkey bar structure (otherwise, this structure needs to be replaced in my opinion). Then there are two small structures and a ton of swings here. If you like going for a short walk, there’s a nature/unpaved path through the woods. It’s fun for throwing rocks in the water. This park of Sligo Creek is always open (unless it floods) and you can park along Sligo Creek Parkway or street park directly next to the park on Bennington. Have a double park day and head to Three Oaks Neighborhood Park (no swings).
- Sligo Creek North Neighborhood Park – This is a shaded park right along the bend of Sligo Creek and another one that’s great to pair with Aldi or Lidl. This has descending monkey bars which can be great for learning. There are two side-by-side baby swings and two traditional swings. There’s a very small parking lot on the bend, otherwise, you’d have to look for neighborhood street parking.
- Forest Grove Neighborhood Park – We call this “hospital” park because it’s close to Holy Cross Hospital. There’s are a couple of spaces directly on Sligo Creek or you can go on the other side of the park to park along the street near the basketball courts. The spinning structure is now the favorite here along with the monkey bars.
There is no shortage of parks in the area! Here are some other nearby ones with links to pictures on Instagram. I also recommend checking out my article, Top Tips for New Silver Spring Parents that will be helpful whether you’re visiting or live in the general area. It includes indoor suggestions as well.
- Bullis Local Park – A lot of younger kids enjoy the train here to play on. It’s also a close enough walk to Silver Spring Library.
- Burtonsville Local Park
- Dewey Local Park – This is a personal favorite! I love the street art here, the little bike path around the park, the skating rink and all of the extras on top of an amazing park! Bring matchbox type cars to use on the small play structure And if you come here, check out Unique Thrift Store nearby! I like this park so much I have two posts!
- Ellsworth Urban Park – This has a little kid park with a low arched monkey bar. Then it has a totally separate section for climbers – the big structure here used to make me so nervous!
- Evans Parkway Park
- Flora Singer Elementary School – This isn’t open during school hours, but it’s perfect for the weekend if you want to use the low monkey bars or play on the little soccer field with nets.
- Flower Avenue Urban Park – This is a colorful park with the big circles that swing to move through. There’s some nice street art nearby here too.
- General Getty Neighborhood Park – We recently returned to this park and I forgot how great it was! I enjoyed being able to walk the path around the park, while still being able to see my child play. This park has a “mommy and me” swing or rather the bucket swing with the traditional swing attached combination.
- Highland View Elementary – This is probably best for non-school hours, but the ninja warrior type obstacle course at the upper playground is a lot of fun and has a big field next to it. Then there’s a lower park down the stairs that’s known as the Kindergarten park.
- Hillandale Local Park – One of our favorites because of the log course! It also has a double swing, bathrooms and it’s next to a fire station.
- Kemp Mill Park – If you have a climber, make sure you bring your tennis shoes! The rope climbing structure is huge here and it’s quite a stretch from the rope onto the platform for the humungous slide!
- MLK Recreation Park – Another park with a low monkey bar for learning. There are accessible features here and bathrooms! There’s also a walking trail. I would say this is one of the most recommended ones for young children. This post has more pictures.
- Montgomery Hills Park – Located behind Aldi’s on Georgia Ave. This park does get some shade, has a book box and it’s next to a tennis court. There’s a super pretty tree here in the Fall too!
- North Four Corners Local Park – This is another favorite for us and it’s actually a double park! The bigger park has a huge field next to it and a great path for biking or scootering.
- Opal Daniels Park
- Seek Lane Park – Addy loved the ninja warrior type obstacle course set-up.
- Sligo Cabin Park – Technically this one is along the trail too, but it is a bit challenging to get to with Purple Line construction unless you walk down from another section of Sligo Creek or one of the neighborhoods. On the weekends, you could park by Sligo Creek Elementary and walk down the steps or take the accessible path around to here.
- Sligo Creek Park – This one is along the trail, but it is my least favorite because I always find it is so buggy! It’s close to Colesville on the side near Brunett Ave and relatively close to the golf course.
- Sligo Mill Overlook
- St. Paul Park – Set back from the road with an open field and path great for riding scooters, bikes or pushing a stroller. Walking distance to historic Kensington.
- Toatley-Fraser Park
- Upper Long Branch Park – Many refer to this as “fire engine park” because of the fire truck structure.
- Wheaton Claridge Park
- Wheaton Library Playground – This is a great, mostly fenced park. It is the perfect park for an outting because there’s also the library, the recreation center, a coffee shop and a Friends of the Library used bookstore. There are bathrooms when the building is open.
- Wheaton Regional Park – This is a destination playground and great for a wide range of ages. There are bathrooms here too! I share more ideas in my article, Top Tips for New Silver Spring Parents.
- Woodside Urban Park – This is a great park with free street parking. It’s also very close to the brand new Mom’s Organic Grocery which has a bathroom! I like to walk over to PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans from here.
About the Author
Lydia Garry and her family, TeamTravelsBaby, live in Silver Spring, Maryland, and are working to achieve “vagabond status”. Much of their affordable family travel experiences include U.S. travel, national parks and Europe. Adventure with them here, subscribe to their newsletter and follow along on Instagram!
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