There is exactly one Park Service unit on the mini-golf list. It is not a resort tucked in the mountains. It is East Potomac Park, a strip of reclaimed land in Washington, DC, with airplanes passing over the river and a miniature course that opened in 1931.
The course is part of National Mall and Memorial Parks. The National Park Service calls it the country's oldest continuously operated miniature golf course. That claim is easier to appreciate in person: this is a surviving piece of the period when city parks made room for cheap, unpretentious recreation alongside monuments. The course is listed within the East and West Potomac Parks historic district, and its restored layout keeps elements of the early design.
Playing East Potomac
The 18 holes are a mix of par twos and threes, with a par four at the finish and a hole decorated with Washington landmarks. It is a real miniature course, not a children's play area attached to the visitor center. The operator, playDCgolf, lists adult rounds at $15 and junior rounds for under-18s at $9. A weekday junior replay is free; other replays are $5. Those are course charges, separate from the park's free admission.
You can reserve a tee time up to one week ahead, but you don't need one. Walk-ins check in with the mini-golf sales office or, if no attendant is there, the golf pro shop. Groups are capped at six per tee time, and payment is made on site. The course is at East Potomac Golf Links, 972 Ohio Drive SW, with free parking next to it. As checked September 27, 2026, the operator lists daily hours of 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., last tee time at 7 p.m.; lights make evening play possible. Weather, maintenance and events can close it, so check the operator's mini-golf page before crossing town.
A small course with a long record
The 1931 course was renovated in 1949 and again in the 1960s. The Park Service's history notes that some of its original layout and features survived those changes, including a stone wall. The operator's restoration leaned into the early design rather than replacing it with a novelty course. If you want a longer round in this same odd corner of the park system, the neighboring East Potomac Golf Links is also one of the five Park Service golf courses.
The park with mini-golf
The directory below contains the single Park Service unit that reports this activity. Use its park page for fees, alerts and the rest of a National Mall visit; use the operator's page for course-specific opening and tee times.
Free to enter Charges an entrance feePoints are the Park Service reference point for each unit, not a boundary.
