Bailey Park and Lake Kittamaqundi
10271 Wincopin Cir
Columbia, MD
Bailey Park
Bailey Park is brand new and located right next to the Whole Foods at the Columbia Lakefront. This area is BEAUTIFUL and I can’t believe we hadn’t been here before! We played at the park and walked around Lake Kittamaqundi.
The park has beautiful views of Lake Kittamaqundi and is located at the bottom/on a hill – there are lots of stairs but also a long ramp so accessing the playground and lake front is totally stroller friendly! We were here from 9-12:30 on a Monday (spent WAY more time than I anticipated) and only shared the playground with one other person the whole time.
This park is small but SO great for both crawlers and older toddlers. All the climbing features were too hard for my 13 month old (no stairs!) so I didn’t have to constantly pull her off the equipment. The rubber surface was clean and perfect for her to crawl around and there were tons of places for her to pull herself up and walk along. The twins loved climbing to the top and crawling across the rubber bridge.
There is a huge fountain next to the playground and tons of places to run around and play at the lakefront surrounding the playground.
Lake Kittamaqundi
The lakefront area is beautiful and well designed! There is a stage for summer concerts and movie nights (pre-Covid obviously), several picnic tables/seating areas, a pier/dock area along the water, gardens, a HUGE two-level fountain that you can walk under, 4 lake front restaurant spaces (though most appeared to be closed/out of business with the exception of Sushi Sono), and a 1.4 mile paved trail around the lake that also connects to other areas of Columbia. I’ve also read that there are paddle boats for rent on the lake, but those were not out today.
From Bailey park, we walked down towards the fountain and the girls thought it was SO cool that they could walk underneath it. Then they ran around the stage area, up and down the steps and around the garden beds.
From there we headed down to the dock by the lake to walk and find the paved trail. I brought the double stroller today and kept the baby in the carrier because there are NO railings on the dock and I wanted to be able to keep the twins contained near the water – so glad I did! Luckily, that portion of the walk is really short. To access the paved trail we went down to the dock and turned left (away from the playground) and walked to the end til we hit the trail) We later found out that you can also access the paved trail by walking past the restaurant section and down the hill from there. Just something to keep in mind if you are outnumbered with little ones and wants to avoid being right on the waters edge on the docks! The walk by the restaurants is still really pretty, with lake views and lots of benches to stop at – just in case you need a place to sit while you clean bird poop off your toddlers shirt (ask me how I know 🤪🤣)
The trail was beautiful, well marked, shaded and scenic. There are several bridges to cross over and it takes you around the lake and along a stream. We saw geese (including lots of babies), turtles (with babies, too!), and a blue heron.
After the walk we stopped and ate lunch near the playground and the girls played for another hour or so. We ended the second park time with a massive tantrum and crying most of the drive home (just keeping it real 🤪🤦🏻♀️) followed by a 3 hour nap (them, not me 😂). We had SO much fun here though and can’t wait to come back. I really hope that they are able to fill the restaurant space again because this area has so much potential!
Walking to Colorburst Park Splash Pad
As an added bonus – this area is also walking distance from the Color Burst Park splash pad. From the splash pad, I just put Whole Foods in my iPhone and selected the walking option and followed from there). Columbia is super walkable so even though we walked along semi-busy roads we felt totally safe and would definitely do this again – I had my double stroller and the baby in the carrier FYI – I wouldn’t attempt letting my 3 y/o walk on their own. It took us about 15 minutes each way. See the map below for the route we took!
🚽 Bathrooms 🚽: I’m sure there are some in Whole Foods, but I didn’t see any public restrooms designated for the park
👩👧👦Solo w/ kids?👩👧👦: Yes! Just avoid the dock area if solo with little ones Bc there is no railing
🛒 Stroller friendly?🛒: yes
🅿️Parking🅿️: huge parking lot (lot shared with Whole Foods and lakefront area)
🧺 Picnic tables: yes, right next to playground
⏰Timing⏰: 2+ hours
🐶 Dog friendly: yes!
Maryland Kid Adventures 