National Mall and Memorial Parks
add photos3 Reviews for National Mall and Memorial Parks
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70 families found this helpful
"Educational, and inspiring"
I wouldn't recommend taking your infants or toddlers to visit DC, but it's a very good experience for your older children. It's truly educational, but still enjoyable. So much can be covered in a single day, and a lot is in walking distance. Choose a Spring or Fall visit and take your time!
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'11, '12
0 families found this helpful
"Open fields to run and play"
I love walking around the National Mall, there is so much to see, lots of interesting people to watch, and a lot of open space to play and run in the big city. My husband is a marathon runner and so spent a lot of time running around the Mall, I just mostly walked :) We took almost daily evening walks as we lived not far and it became a really lovely family routine. DC is one of my favorite big cities, I would love to move back there someday!
0 families found this helpful
"Perfect place to begin your monument/memorial tour of D.C."
The truth is, you could spend weeks touring these sites and still not see everything. However, if you are on a short vacation, plan at least one or two days to visit the National Mall and Memorials. Start at the Park Ranger office at the base of the hill where the Washington Monument stands (not the Monument visitors center/gift shop; the park ranger office is on the opposite side, a dark grey stone building). The park rangers are on duty from 9:30am to 11:30pm. They will provide a map and other brochures that will guide you to each monument or memorial that you would like to see. At each location, additional park rangers and volunteers will be available to answer questions. To see if there are special events or guided tours available, visit the National Park Service website for information on their events calendar.
For families interested in the Junior Ranger program, try to print off the Jr Ranger booklet from the internet. It may cost you some money, however it is a big challenge to find a monument/memorial location that actually has the booklets in stock (they will have them at the Washington Monument NPS location because this is the ONLY location where they award the badge) If your child wants to complete this booklet, plan for at least 7 hours of walking and talking to park rangers. Not all the answers are in the museums or exhibit halls. Wear really comfortable shoes and plan to bring lots of water/snacks. Plan to park in ONE location and walk at least 5-6 miles. It is not practical to drive from location to location because a) finding a parking spot is next to impossible and b) you have to pay lots of $ to park each time. When we completed the Jr Ranger booklet, it was like we had run a marathon, but it was a lot of fun and a great sense of accomplishment.
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