Kalorama Park

Love that it has two sections for the playground. One side is for toddlers and the other side is for the older kiddos so all ages can have fun! There’s some work going on right now so you can’t access all of the park, but it’s still a nice place to take the kids and to grab some quiet time as well. You can always catch people eating lunch there or people playing with their dogs on the weekends.

It’s a great little park in the middle of my bustling neighborhood where I can sit on a park bench and read. I love the fact that its mostly people who live in the neighborhood that use it. I also love how the high bushes along Columbia Road block out some of the view of the street. While I know the changes coming to the park are necessary, I am worried the park will lose too much of its green space and trees. I’ve seen the redesigned parks in other neighborhoods and while very attractive they also look like something plucked out of Disney – overly manicured and fake.

Whenever we come to DC to play and visit family we stay at the Washington Hilton (well, as much as hotel rates allow us) and this park is a quick walk (just a few blocks) away. I LOVE this pay area. I love how the park and specifically the children’s play area is set off of the street and has a bit of a buffer to it (and is fenced in). The great thing about this playground too is that it is separated based on age– a smaller tot-​lot and another, separate area for slightly older kids (5 – 10?) Each playground has sand, swings, climbing apparatus, and slides.
Parents and Nannies have always seemed very friendly and also attentive to the kids they bring– which is also very nice!

It’s a nice little green spot in the neighborhood. Not a lot going on here though, unless you’re lucky enough to have a plot in the garden. The basketball courts are pretty good, but I don’t play. The benches are few; it’s more a place for people to walk their dogs through. There is a fenced in playground; so it’s a good place for kids. For adults, I’d make the trek to Meridian Hill instead.

Lots of doggie poop in the grass. As well, lots of yuppies sunning themselves on top of that poopy grass. But I’m giving it four stars because it’s a cozy place to just hang out and read your book.
(I’ll try not to talk too much about poop in future reviews)

Great little park! They redid the grass over the late winter and it looks great now in mid spring. There is even a community garden space, swing sets and cherry trees for your viewing enjoyment. Definitely an urban oasis for those seeking some greenery.

This is not a dog park. And yet it’s a dog park.
There’s plenty of space to cop a squat and have a picnic… just stay mindful that this is a dog park as you choose your location.
There’s green stuff here like trees and grass… and playgrounds for children including swing sets and slides. There’s a small basketball court often filled with teens or young adults.
There are so many people trying to enjoy this space at once (to include the local homeless) that it can feel more like a grassy median on a highway than a park. Most trash cans are overflowing, and there’s quite a bit of litter.
Oh — and don’t let the pup go off leash, even if you can trust him to come back to you, because he might just stumble upon a homeless guy’s nest under a bush and start tasting things you don’t want him to taste.

Eat your morning bagel from So’s Your Mom. Look around and see the morning people walking their dogs. Watch the birds. Feel the breeze. Hear it flow through the leaves. Behind the hedges the city seems far away. Here where the squirrels play there is a whole other world. Breathe it in. Relax. Take some time to notice the life around you. O Nachez, oh Oak, o thriving young Magnolia, you bring me such peace pleasure and understanding.

It’s beautiful, and large enough to be freeing while compact enough to seem cozy. There are always people playing, walking their dogs, etc. — both charming, and gives you a sense of safety.
There is a community garden program, and some sports facilities, but its mainly just well tended grass and trees… as it should be.
Truly, one of the highlights of the Kalorama Triangle area.

I live right across the street from this park, and whatever it was two years ago, it’s great now. Every day there are dog walkers, a great diverse group of kids playing in the playground areas or practicing their bike riding, moms with strollers, older people relaxing with the paper, cyclists taking a break in the grass, etc… it’s a beautiful little park that the neighborhood works hard to maintain. New trees were actually just planted last week, so by next year it will be even nicer. There’s a community garden as well; they lotto off plots every spring. It’s not a huge space, but it brings out the neighbors and is well-maintained…one of my favorite things about living on Kalorama.

This park has some potential and has a lovely view over the rooftops of the Washington Cathedral. But it suffer from the triangle challenge common too many spaces in DC: 1) People want to cut through it. 2) It is not quite big enough. 3) There are too many things happening in it (community gardens, nice relaxation spot, kiddie park, basketball courts, dogs off leash). 4) Recreation center for pre-​teens, teens. AND Now (1÷1÷2008) and for the last six months, the biggest least-​cut through space has been fenced off in an effort to grow grass. Oh right, there is no convenient irrigation there, so Park donors were asked to volunteer to move sprinklers in a public park. And then the Dept. of Parks and Rec. clearly didn’t really know how to plant grass, so a lot of it died when it was hot. Let’s all say the word: «mulch» really slowly. Maybe by next spring (2008), it will look okay, but the demand for park area around Adams Morgan is so great that I am sure the grass will get worn down quickly. Look at the other parks in the area, and you will see the city needs to 1) put in irrigation systems and 2) train people in taking care of grassy areas. Don’t ask the National Park Service, the Mall show they don’t know. Ask the parks people in cities with even more demand (New York City) or more challenging climates (Sacramento). And then INVEST in the right equipment and the right training.

A little history first: «The name Kalorama, meaning „beautiful view“ in Greek, comes from the 19^th century estate of the same name, comprising much of the surrounding area. The estate was later subdivided into smaller parcels. The parcel on which the park is located passed through several hands, until it was acquired by the Federal government in the 1940s. In 1971, the National Park Service transferred jurisdiction (but not ownership) over the Park to the District of Columbia for recreation and related purposes.» — from
This is my favorite place to take the Sunday paper for a spin. The benches are ideal for hours of perusing the New York Times, especially if you have a nice beverage and a sack lunch. People tend to be a bit lax on keeping their dogs on leashes, but, otherwise, this is a great, local park.

This park doesn’t get much use, I mean accept for those that sleep there.
Kalorama park is in a pretty sweet spot and it’s well maintained but it doesn’t have a lot action. If you were driving by you wouldn’t even know it’s there because of the big hedges along Columbia. I run through there from time to time but that’s about it…

We were lazing around on my friend’s couch, Saturday afternoon, watching football highlights and eating sunflower seeds. «Why don’t we throw the football around?» someone said. «It’s still sunny out.» Throwing a football in Adams Morgan? My friend lives at 18^th & Columbia, where I only knew of concrete parks or sidestreets to play. «Dude, there’s a park on this block!» someone told me.
Soon we were outside in the sunshine, tossing a football and eating more seeds. It’s too bad there weren’t more people out… just some dog walkers and a young couple playing tennis. It was nice to have the place to ourselves, but it makes me think that the yuppies of DC need to get out a bit more.