Adventure Playground at Wheaton Regional Park

This playground shows up on every list of the area's best parks -- and deservedly so. Jam-packed with cool, challenging climbing equipment, along with super-long slides, sprawling ramps, and a giant blue dome, this is the nirvana of playgrounds. It is designed with older kids in mind, and kids of all ages can have fun here -- as can adults (I tested this out personally, being the dedicated blogger that I am). The slides, dome, and blue web-climbers are the eye-catchers, but even the smaller climbing structures in the playground are surprisingly well-designed and challenging.

It even has bathrooms! And on summer weekends, the Wheaton miniature train and carousel are right down the hill. (They also share a parking lot, which you get to by going down Shorefield Road off Georgia Avenue.)

There are a few drawbacks. The layout and size of the playground make it challenging to keep track of children, which means that despite a very cool younger kids' area with an interesting sandbox, this playground is best for older kids who don't need constant supervision. With younger children, I would want a one-to-one adult-to-child ratio (and even then, it is a challenge to keep a kid in sight, especially if they're doing the slides). There is also not a lot of shade.

But overall, this is a justifiably popular playground, well worth a visit or ten.

Sligo-Bennington Neighborhood Park

I came across this playground while I biking along Sligo Creek, and decided to include it because the blog is short on toddler playgrounds. Every single structure here is appropriate for toddlers, plus there is space to run around and more swings than I've ever seen in a single playground. There is even a low-to-the-ground tire swing! (Only the fourth tire swing I've seen in Montgomery County so far.) 

It's definitely not for older kids -- even a 4-year-olds would probably get bored fast -- but for 2-year-olds, it would be heaven.

 

General Getty Neighborhood Park

Did you know that they still make playgrounds out of wood (or at least, they did back in 1998, when General Getty Playground was built?) And I wasn't the only one who appreciated the novelty; my four-year-old was enamored with this playground's three climbing structures and abundant grassy space. The structures were mostly familiar, but the tiniest bit not to the usual code -- a bit more loosely-constructed, slopes a bit steeper, bars set a bit farther apart -- and that seemed enough to make it really interesting to him.

I suspect the structures would be a bit too basic to hold older kids' attention for long, but if you bring some balls or jump ropes, the huge expanses of grass should provide a great play area.

Bonus: There is a porta-potty stationed in the small parking lot.