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Glen Echo Park, Glen Echo, MD

Photo: Mary Ann Daly, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & Outdoors

Glen Echo Park

Former Chautauqua grounds and amusement park near Washington, DC, now a National Park Service site offering arts and recreation.

7300 MacArthur Boulevard, Glen Echo, MD 20812 · Glen Echo, MD

About Glen Echo Park

Glen Echo Park started in 1891 as a educational gathering known as a Chautauqua. Around 1911 it became the region's leading amusement park, and it operated in that role until 1968. The National Park Service has managed the property since 1971. Working with a local arts partnership, the park hosts cultural and recreational programming throughout the year. Visitors can ride the historic Dentzel Carousel, join social dances held year-round, explore art programs, and use a large picnic area with a playground. The park also tells a wider story that includes a civil rights struggle and its historic carousel.

  • #national park service
  • #chautauqua
  • #amusement park history
  • #carousel
  • #arts

What's around here?

The closest stops to Glen Echo Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Clara Barton National Historic Site

    No admission fee

    Take a free ranger tour of the big yellow Glen Echo house where Red Cross founder Clara Barton lived and worked her last 15 years.

    Right next doorSwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Museums

    CIA Museum

    No admission fee

    Collection of declassified intelligence artifacts at CIA Headquarters, viewable mainly online.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    1.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Bradley Park

    Check prices

    Small Montgomery Parks neighborhood park in Bethesda with a playground, soccer field, tennis courts, and a community garden.

    2.4 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing

    Fort Marcy Park

    No admission fee

    Preserved Civil War earthwork fort protecting the Chain Bridge approach to Washington, D.C.

    2.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Battery Lane Park

    Check prices

    A small two-acre neighborhood park in Bethesda with play equipment, courts, and fitness stations.

    2.7 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Ayrlawn Park

    Check prices

    A compact Bethesda park with accessible play areas and sports courts and fields.

    2.7 mi awayMore like this

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