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.

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!