• Summer mornings are best for viewing water flowers.

    Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens

    District of Columbia

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  • Changes to Visitor Services due to Sequestration

    Due to mandatory, across-the-board budget cuts, some visitor services in this park have changed. Please check the Plan Your Visit section for more information.

Operating Hours & Seasons

Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens is the northern site of Anacostia Park. It is divided into three distinct management units with different policies based on the resources protected by each unit.

For a schedule of events, click here.

Kenilworth Athletic Fields (athletic fields and meadow), entered off Burroughs Avenue, is normally open from 8:00 a.m. to dusk. It is closed when road conditions are hazardous. To prevent damage, fields are not open after heavy rains.

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, entered from Anacostia Avenue, is open from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The park exit locks at 5pm to all except those coming by water. Those coming by water must monitor tides not to be stuck. The park is closed Thanksgiving, December 25 and January 1.

Kenilworth Marsh can be accessed by canoe at high tide from the river, or on foot by the boardwalk and river trail beginning in Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens or the edge of Kenilworth Park.

Spring is the best season for wildflowers in the marsh that borders the athletic fields and gardens. Summer is the season for the Aquatic Gardens. Winter, when leaves are off the trees, is the best time for birding at any of the sites.

 
Hot, blazing bright flowers are characteristic of tropical waterlilies
Early morning is the best time to see night blooming flowers.
Doug Rowley

Did You Know?

cartoon mosquito

You are more likely to be bit by a mosquito in your neighborhood than at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. More...