Turkey Thicket Rec Center
1100 Michigan Ave NE
Washington, DC
Turkey Thicket Rec Center is located in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, DC! It has an amazing train-themed playground open year-round and a splash pad (open 10-8 daily through Labor Day.)
There is a parking lot available but we missed the turn for it and ended up finding easy street parking right next to the playground. This map shows where the parking lot is located:
We arrived at 9 am on a weekday and I was honestly shocked at how crowded it was already. We played on the equipment for about an hour before the spray park turned on, then played there for a while before heading home.
Pros:
⭐️ REALLY cool playground with a huge train structure, turf hill with roller slide, tons of unique elements!
⭐️ Splash pad was pretty small but really fun and great for all ages. Open 10-8 daily through Labor Day
⭐️ Lots of big trees around the playground for shade breaks
Cons:
❌So insanely crowded! 2 huge camp groups were there. My girls were pretty overwhelmed with it all. We still had fun but will likely wait to come back until school is back in session.
Tip:
If you want to play on a less-busy playground – plan to play right at 10 when the splash pad turns on! The playground cleared out for a good 30-45 minutes when all the kids flocked to the splash pad. I’m thinking this park may be one that’s actually better to visit mid-day/lunch time, as camps that are visiting may break for lunch at that point.
🚽 Bathrooms 🚽: May be able to use the rec center bathrooms? But we brought a travel potty instead
👩👧👦Solo w/ kids?👩👧👦: Not when its super crowded. On a more quiet day it would be fine.
🛒 Stroller friendly?🛒: yes
🦠Covid-safe🦠: very, very busy. We were still able to spread out for the most part
🅿️Parking🅿️: big parking lot off of Michigan Ave (see map)
🧺 Picnic tables: yes with covered pavilion
⏰Timing⏰: 2-3 hours
🐶 Dog friendly: yes
🏖Shade: Playground is full sun but the grassy areas have lots of shade trees and a covered pavilion
Maryland Kid Adventures 