Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens

This July we headed to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens for The Lotus and Water Lily Festival in mid-July. This national park unit in Washington, DC was such a pleasant surprise. I had never heard about this park before starting our National Park journey and it did not disappoint. It is an expansive aquatic garden with a range of water plants in peak bloom and birds to spot at the time of the festival. There were several people on site with picnic baskets enjoying a pleasant afternoon by the blossoms.

Walter “Ranger Mac” McDowney was a central Black history figure to this park. During his tenure he helped to bring children from the community into the park as the park’s first Junior Rangers. He was the first African American to win the Freeman Tilden Award for Ranger of the Year. Ranger Mac’s legacy is felt in the park to this day.