Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens
Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens is part of National Capital Parks-East, a unit of the National Park System. It is not counted as a unit of its own.
Deep within Kenilworth lies an oasis, hidden behind trees and cattails. It's a place where beavers build their homes and turtles sleep on logs. Lotus blooms rise from the muck and lilies sit on the water. The wind dances with the dragonflies, rustling through the trees, carrying the song of the birds until it brushes across your face, fading to a whisper, saying "come join."
About under an hour from Washington and under an hour from Baltimore by car.
Alerts
- ClosureVehicle Weight Limit at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Entrance
Due to structural conditions at the driveway entrance, access to the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens main entrance and parking lot is limited to vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 16,000 pounds or less.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
Hours
| Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens | Daily · 8:00AM - 4:00PM |
Hours by date. Standard hours apply on every date not listed.
| Dates | Hours |
|---|---|
| Standard hoursNow | 8:00AM - 4:00PM |
| Nov 26, 2026Thanksgiving Day | Closed |
| Dec 25, 2026Christmas Day | Closed |
| Jan 1, 2027New Year's Day | Closed |
| Jun 3 to Sep 6, 2027Summer Hours |
|
Visitor centers
- Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
The Visitor Center at Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens is an ideal place to begin your visit. Restrooms are located here as well as orientation brochures. A small room of exhibit panels provides a brief overview of the history of the gardens and its key plants.
Explore
Things to do
- Junior Ranger Programs at National Capital Parks - East30-90 Minutes
Become a Junior Ranger at parks across National Capital Parks – East! Explore, complete a booklet, and earn badges and certificates along the way!
Opens on the Park Service site - Collect all the National Capital Parks - East Passport Stamps5-10 Minutes
Start your stamp collection and celebrate every park you visit! Explore historic sites and scenic parks managed by National Capital Parks - East and collect a unique stamp at each one.
Opens on the Park Service site - Orange Line - DC Metro1-2 Days
Discover lotus and lily flowers at Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens, or explore the many memorials just a short walk from the Orange Line.
Opens on the Park Service site - Take a walk through Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens1-8 Hours
Sparkling in the sun on a breezy day, this natural area of Anacostia Park has origins in a 1926 act of Congress to preserve the forests, water quality, and recreation value of the waterways of Washington, DC.
Opens on the Park Service site - Become a Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Junior Ranger30-90 Minutes
Kids of all ages can become a junior ranger at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. Find a park ranger or stop by the visitor center to pick up your book when you visit.
Opens on the Park Service site - Picnic at Kenilworth1-2 Hours
Relax and enjoy a picnic at Kenilworth Park! Continue the tradition of having a picnic breakfast or lunch that has been enjoyed by visitors to Kenilworth since the early 1900s.
Opens on the Park Service site
Show all 7Hide
- Go Birding At Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens!1-4 Hours
Open year-round, Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens offers an excellent opportunity for birdwatching. The river, marshes, and hardwood trees offers a diverse habitat for finding birds. Over 240 birds have been sighted at the park!
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Events
- Ranger Led Garden Tour10/1410:00 AM · runs through Nov 30 · free
- Bird Walk10/2008:30 AM · runs through Dec 29 · freeKenilworth Aquatic Gardens: 1550 Anacostia Avenue NE, Washington, D.C. 20019
- Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Monthly Volunteer Event10/2409:00 AM · free · registration required1550 Anacostia Ave NE Washington, DC 20019
- Saturday Bird Walk11/0708:30 AM · runs through Dec 5 · free
- Sunday Bird Walk11/0808:30 AM · free
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
Historic landmarks nearby
Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Guidebooks for the Mid-Atlantic
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Seen this monthRed Fox 71× · Bald Eagle 27× · Peregrine Falcon 9× · Barred Owl 9× · Osprey 9× · Greater Yellowlegs 8× · Belted Kingfisher 6× · Lesser Yellowlegs 5×Research-grade observations within 25 km, last 30 days, via iNaturalist
Full checklist: 228 birds, 21 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsBlack Vulture · Broad-Winged Hawk · Cooper's Hawk · Falcon · Great Horned Owl · MERLIN · Northern Harrier · OSPREY · Red-Shouldered Hawk · Red-Tailed Hawk · Sharp-Shinned Hawk · Turkey Vulture · american kestrel · bald eagle · barred owl
Waterfowl & wadersAmerican Bittern · American Black Duck · American Wigeon · BITTERN · Blue-Winged Teal · Bufflehead · Canada Goose · Cattle Egret · Common Goldeneye · Cormorant · DUCK · GREBE · Great Blue Heron · Great Egret · Greater White-fronted Goose · Green Heron · Green-Winged Teal · HERON · Lesser Scaup · Little Blue Heron · Northern Pintail Duck · Rail · Ring-Necked Duck · Snow Goose · Snowy Egret · Tricolored Heron · Tundra Swan · Wood Duck · american coot · black-crowned night-heron · common loon · common merganser · eared grebe · glossy ibis · hooded merganser · rail · red-necked grebe · red-throated loon
Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican golden plover · Dowitcher · Dunlin · GULL · Gull · Killdeer · Least Sandpiper · Pectoral Sandpiper · Sanderling · Semipalmated Plover · Semipalmated Sandpiper · Spotted Sandpiper · Stilt Sandpiper · Western Sandpiper · White-Rumped Sandpiper · Willet · american woodcock · bonaparte's gull · caspian tern · common snipe · forster's tern · franklin's gull · greater yellowlegs · least tern · lesser black-backed gull · lesser yellowlegs · solitary sandpiper
Gamebirds & dovesDOVE · Northern Bobwhite · Rock Dove
WoodpeckersNorthern Flicker · Pileated Woodpecker · Sapsucker · downy woodpecker · hairy woodpecker · red-bellied woodpecker · red-headed woodpecker
Hummingbirds & swiftsChimney Swift · Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
Also on the checklistAcadian Flycatcher · Alder Flycatcher · American Cliff Swallow · American Crow · American Goldfinch · American Pipit · Ash-throated Flycatcher · BLACKBIRD · BLUEBIRD · BUNTING · Bay-Breasted Warbler · Belted Kingfisher · Black-Billed Cuckoo · Black-Throated Blue Warbler · Black-Throated Green Warbler · Blackburnian Warbler · Blackpoll Warbler · Blue Jay · Bobolink · Brewster's warbler · Brown Creeper · Bunting · Cape May Warbler · Carolina Chickadee · Cedar Waxwing · Cerulean Warbler · Chat · Chestnut-Sided Warbler · Common Nighthawk · Dickcissel · Eastern Tufted Titmouse · Eastern Wood-Pewee · Evening Grosbeak · Fish Crow · Flycatcher · GROSBEAK · Gadwall · Grasshopper Sparrow · Gray Catbird · Grey-Cheeked Thrush · Hawaiian stilt · Hermit Thrush · Horned Lark · House Finch · KINGLET · Kingbird · Lawrence's warbler · Least Flycatcher · MARTIN · MOCKINGBIRD · Magnolia Warbler · Mallard · Mangrove Warbler · Marsh Wren · NUTHATCH · Northern Cardinal · Northern Goshawk · Northern Shoveler · Oldsquaw · Palm Warbler · Pine Siskin · Prairie Warbler · Purple Finch · Red-Winged Blackbird · SWALLOW · Sparrow · Sparrow · Sparrow · Swainson's Thrush · THRUSH · VIREO · Veery · Vireo · WATERTHRUSH · Warbler · Willow Flycatcher · Wilson's Warbler · Woodpeckers · Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher · Yellow-Billed Cuckoo · Yellow-Rumped Warbler · Yellow-Throated Warbler · american redstart · american robin · american tree sparrow · bank swallow · barn swallow · black-and-white warbler · blue grosbeak · blue-gray gnatcatcher · blue-winged warbler · brown thrasher · brown-headed cowbird · canada warbler · carolina wren · chipping sparrow · common grackle · common moorhen · common yellowthroat · connecticut warbler · dark-eyed junco · eastern kingbird · eastern meadowlark · eastern phoebe · european starling · field sparrow · fox sparrow · golden-crowned kinglet · hooded warbler · house sparrow · house wren · kentucky warbler · lincoln's sparrow · nashville warbler · northern oriole · northern parula · northern rough-winged swallow · northern waterthrush · orange-crowned warbler · orchard oriole · ovenbird · prothonotary warbler · red-eyed vireo · rufous-sided towhee · savannah sparrow · scarlet tanager · solitary vireo · song sparrow · vireo · warbler · white-breasted nuthatch · white-crowned sparrow · winter wren
Small mammalsAmerican Beaver · Eastern Chipmunk · Eastern Cottontail · Eastern Fox Squirrel · Eastern Gray Squirrel · Eastern Mole · Muskrat · Northern Short-Tailed Shrew · white-footed mouse
PredatorsAmerican Mink · Common Gray Fox · Cross Fox · River Otter · common raccoon
Hoofed mammalsWhite-tailed Deer
BatsBig Brown Bat · Eastern Red Bat
Also on the checklistDomestic Cat · Domestic Dog · Groundhog · Opossum
Activities
Activity guides for this park Birdwatching in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks · Wildlife watching in the national parks
Weather & climate
June-September expect warm and humid weather. Average high temperatures are in the 80s, though often in the low 90s. On humid days, showers and thunderstorms often build in the late afternoon. July and August are the warmest months. The coldest month is January, with average daytime highs in the low 40s and overnight lows in the upper 20s.
Questions people ask
Does Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens charge an entrance fee?
No. Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
What are the hours at Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens?
Standard hours are 8:00AM - 4:00PM, every day. Dated exceptions are listed under Hours.
Source: National Park Service
Is anything closed at Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens right now?
1 active alert as of October 14, 2026: Vehicle Weight Limit at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Entrance.
Source: Alerts
Is there cell service at Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens?
At the park's reference point, FCC coverage maps show Verizon 4G LTE, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G. Coverage inside the park varies by location.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
What is the weather like at Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens?
June-September expect warm and humid weather. Average high temperatures are in the 80s, though often in the low 90s.
Source: Weather & climate
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
