Lotus flower blooms at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C.

PARK OVERVIEW

Kenilworth Park is part of Anacostia Park, a unit of the National Park system in Washington, D. C. Within Kenilworth Park, which is a typical city park complete with athletic fields, is the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, the only National Park Service-owned property dedicated to water plants. Since there is nothing special about sports fields, the information here on National Park Planner focuses on the more interesting Aquatic Gardens.

The Aquatic Gardens has its roots in a land purchase of thirty acres along the Anacostia River by Walter Shaw in the 1880s. He began growing water lilies in a pond that was on the property, and what started out as a hobby soon became a booming horticulture business specializing in water plants such as lilies and lotuses (or loti). The gardens were a popular tourist attraction, and when the marsh along the river was being drained for flood control purposes in the 1920s and 30s, Congress approved the purchase of eight of Shaw’s thirty acres in 1938 to preserve the aquatic gardens and surrounding marshland. Today this is all that remains of the original ecosystem.

Begin your visit to the park at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Visitor Center where you can learn about water lilies and lotuses. Afterwards, tour the gardens along various paths that run between the forty-four ponds. If you want to see the marsh, take the short boardwalk that begins at the back left corner of the gardens. There is also a trail that connects to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail, a paved, multi-use path that is open to hikers, bikers, and those on roller skates.

Lotus flower blooms at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C.

OPERATING HOURS

Visitors are welcome to tour Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens throughout the year, though hours vary depending on the season. During the summer (June through Labor Day), hours are typically from 8 AM to 8 PM on Wednesdays through Sundays and from 8 AM to 4 PM on Mondays and Tuesdays. For the rest of the year, hours are from 8 AM to 4 PM each day.

The Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Visitor Center operates on the same seasonal schedule, but the summer hours are 9 AM to 7 PM Wednesdays through Sundays and 9 AM to 3 PM on Mondays and Tuesdays. For the rest of the year, hours are 9 AM to 3 PM.

The sports fields and grounds of Kenilworth Park are open daily from 8 AM to dusk.

The entire park is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.

Times can always change, so be sure to get the latest schedule on the National Park Service’s official Operating Hours and Seasons web page for Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens.