Greenbelt National Park - An "Urban Oasis" in our own backyard

Location(s): 6565 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, Maryland 20770
Time of Day/Length: daylight, two-five hours, depending on length of walk
Cost: Free
Recommendation by: Scott Mooney

Living in Prince George's County comes with a ton of benefits. But with so much to do on a daily basis we often get caught up in the flow of traffic and look right past the entrance to Greenbelt National Park (GNP) right on Greenbelt Road. Even with so much going on, sometimes it is important to take a moment and schedule some back-to-nature time for you and your family and this is a fantastic place to do it. GNP virtually eliminates all of the excuses we might otherwise have for not getting to another park or forest - distance, cost, takes the whole day, etc. are all wiped off the table. The best part about it is that unlike other National Parks I've been to where you need to be a serious hiker or outdoors man GNP is so family friendly. From a well done playground with adjacent gigantic open play space to simple walking trails, families (even strollers, but I recommend the jogging or big-wheeled kind) are able to find their way to a spot where you don't even hear the traffic we've all become accustomed to.

I very much recommend that you take a look at the map and plan out your intended walk. It is easy to start walking and not realize the length of the walk you are committing to. A real benefit to the park (unlike other hiking spots where you park at the base and it is one-way up and one-way down) is that there are multiple parking areas which allow for different walks all the time.

Swimming in any weather

Location(s): Chillum
Time of Day/Length: Any time/1-3 hours
Cost: $
Recommendation by: Scott Mooney

We have lived in this area for years and only recently have we been acquainted with the Rollingcrest-Chillum Splash Pool (6122 Sargent Road, 301-853-9115). For only a few dollars your young ones will have a blast on multiple slides, a huge area for toddlers, a cargo-rope/lilly-pad crossing and as many water jets as you could hope to have. The best part about it was that it was all indoors and the water, although clearly NOT the 85 degrees they advertised, was very nice - unlike the often bone chilling Greenbelt pool. Oh, and don't forget... the designers were obviously parents when they put the huge hot tub right in the middle of all the action. Your kids can play and you can soak your troubles away. Very nice.

A recommendation though - with so many families utilizing the pool the two family changing rooms are a hot commodity. If you know you want to leave at the next rest break it might be wise to jump the gun by a few minutes to get in before the other families take over.

College Perk Welcomes Greenbelters

Location(s): 9078 Baltimore Ave., College Park, MD
Time of Day/Length: mid-morning, two hours
Cost: $
Recommendation by: Nicole Hudgins

For sleep hygiene reasons, I don't do a lot of office work at home. So, I'm always looking for a cozy coffeehouse where I can fire up the laptop or grade student papers. Since hours at the New Deal Café have been reduced to the weekend only, I had to search for a new spot. Starbucks in Greenway Center is okay, but they keep the place freezing and there's no free wireless. So, I turned to the College Perk (tel: 301-982-0587) just near the intersection of Rt 193 and Rt 1.

Not only is the coffee at College Perk superior to that of Starbucks, but they offer real food and free wireless. The new tapas menu is served up by the chef with a surprising amount of artistry and care. Items range from $3-$7, including tenderly seared tuna medallions and a wonderfully refreshing cucumber salad. There are also loose-leaf teas, excellent desserts, and pastries too.

At first, I feared that College Perk was strictly a student hangout, but I soon found out the owner and employees make adults and families feel welcome. Coffeehouse lovers of all ages will enjoy the bohemian atmosphere and the consistently excellent soundtrack playing in the background. I haven't been there at night yet, but I think the place transforms into a local music venue, complete with a small, friendly bar.

The only reason to go to Starbucks now is in case you need an early morning place (during the week, the Perk opens at 11am). Otherwise, you'll enjoy supporting this lone non-corporate haven.

Weekend morning in CP and Gbelt

Location(s): College Park, Greenbelt
Time of Day/Length: Morning
Cost: $
Recommendation by: Scott Mooney

This is a personal family favorite of ours that I wanted to share with the group. It is a great way to start off a weekend day.

What we like to do, sometimes to give mom a little extra time to sleep in or we will drag her along with us, is start the morning with breakfast at the Bagel Place in College Park. Having grown up in New York with "real" bagels, and being sorely disappointed when I first moved to the area, I found that the Bagel Place does a decent job with their bagels. We will relax over breakfast there, then buy one of their bags of "day-olds" to bring with us to the lake at Buddy Attick Park. The kids love feeding the ducks, swans, geese and fish at the pond (please don't jump at the mention of feeding the animals), and by the time we take a walk all the way around they didn't even notice we got some great exercise. We will usually spend some additional time at the playground and head home in time for lunch and naps.

Enjoy!

Welcome

With so many of us in the Greenbelt area interested in finding new things to do in our "free time" I thought it would be helpful to create a one-stop site specifically for sharing our ideas and resources for all things fun in the DC Metro area.

So...

Do you have trips or activities that work well with children?
Which bike trails are the best and worst?
What does your family do on those days out?
Where do you like to grab a bite to eat?
Know of a swimming pool or better yet, a swimming hole to share?
What fishing spots are you willing to let others know about?
What is the best place to sit and read a book with a good cup of coffee?

Please share your favorite things to do with the rest of the Greenbelt community by emailing your stories to greenbeltersonthego@hotmail.com. I will share your stories as posts to this blog where everyone will be able to read and make additions in the form of comments to the posts.

Thanks so much and I look forward to seeing this project grow.

Your friendly moderator,

Scott Mooney