Our Special Harbor Spray Park — Attraction in Groveton

I will echo a lot of other reviews:

PROS

SUCH a fun splash park with plenty for big and little kids to do! I had an adventurous almost 6-year-old and a timid 3-year-old and they both had fun.

An large, unique - and half shaded! - playground.

Generous picnic area with plenty of shade and tables.

…and I didn’t even get a chance to explore the walking trails!

FREE if you can believe!

CONS

Free comes with crowds, of course, and we ended up standing in line for twenty minutes to get in on a Friday. (There is a limit of 200 people inside the splash park.) I would recommend getting there RIGHT when it opens or about an hour later; otherwise you’re waiting for people who literally just got there to leave so you can get in.

I also don’t know why it doesn’t open till 11:00…I would love to go in the morning, especially with toddlers.

It is a tad overwhelming when that splash park is full, which it will be on any warm sunny day in the summer. That said, the crowds do Evan flow and there were times where the park was not as crowded. It’s also good to know that they have a “noise sensitivity“ hour on Wednesdays if your child struggles with anxiety in big crowds.

I do wish there was more shade inside the splash park, too. There are a couple shades with plastic chairs under them around the perimeter, but again when we arrived it was completely full. Fortunately, everyone was very nice and accommodating, and cleared a space where I could park my baby in the shade.

Overall, an absolutely delightful park and I just wish I lived closer to it! I drove all the way from Fairfax, but I would do...

Went on a weekday around noon and there was a small line to get in understandably because they had just opened at 11. We didn’t have to wait in the line that long maybe 10 mins. Wish there was more shade outside for us waiting in line in the sun. Splash pad area was nice . Also wish there was more shaded areas . I was able to get a seat once someone left but for a while I was in the sun. Playground was great my son played here more than the splash pad that we had originally came for. They have 2 playground areas one for the bigger kids 5-12 and then one for smaller kids 2-5. That area is shaded not the one for the bigger kids. No food options besides ice cream and drinks. They do have water shoes available for purchase if you forget . Along with other things like towels /sunscreen etc. Picnic areas in the shade if you do want to bring a lunch because they don’t have food options. And they have a Carousel that you have to pay for $3:50 Overall for it being free it’s a good way for the kids to enjoy...

A day of fun for under $5 Staying home in the Summer we are always looking for something fun and inexpensive to do. Today we had a ball and I only spent $3. We started our day at the Regal movie theaters in Potomac Yards for the Kids Summer $1 movies. Today's choices were between Lego Batman and Trolls. Being a mom of two boys, Lego Batman won. Then to stay cool in the heat we headed over to Our Special Harbor Water Spray. This place is a new favorite and hidden gem that is totally free. We enjoyed our packed lunches under a tree, the kids ran wild in the treehouse playground and we ended the day running through the water sprays and dump buckets. A perfect Summer dayal for under...