Cabin John Regional Park — Attraction in North Bethesda

I used to go to Cabin John Park when I was a small child. It was so exciting. There was lots to play on and the train and the litter pig. My nephew is 6 and the whole family packed up a lunch and went to Cabin John Park. Which just let me know that I had no standards as a child. It's a little hard to find. It's pretty big and in the middle of a rather busy part of Rockville. Yet it is hidden away. Which is great. It's a nice oasis. But being tucked away makes it a little hard to find. And it doesn't help that everything in the area is named Cabin John This or Cabin John That. A thousand signs that say Cabin John and it's easy enough to turn into the wrong place. But we all found each other eventually and we decided to take my nephew on the train. How many adults does it take to take a 6 year old on a train? 5, apparently. We stood in line to get tickets. And we heard the ticket seller say to the woman ahead of us that the usual $2 fare had been raised to $6 because it was the Halloween train. Okay, my sister was paying, so I didn't care so much. And $6... I'm thinking this is going to be a good train ride. It wasn't. They put up little, wooden , cartoon-y Halloween characters. There was a list of the characters that we didn't get, but other people had. I blame the ticket seller. Fine... someone went out and put up the characters, but seriously, triple the price! No, that was so unreasonable. And it was fine for me, since my sister was paying. But I remember that we were poor when I was little and going to the park was a treat. It's an oppressive price gouging. After the really expensive train ride, we went to see the litter pig, which had been my favorite as a child. You can put litter in the pig's mouth and he oinks and talks to you about picking up litter. It's really creepy. This is the voice I imagine Pennywise the clown has. After having fun with the pig, we went to one of the playgrounds. It full of yellow jackets. I was stung once. Hang some traps. It's not the greatest playground, but it's not horrible. Still, it didn't take long for my nephew to get bored. So, the family headed off to another park. I begged off, as I had been stung and wanted to take...

Cabin John Park is georgious and impeccably maintained by park staff personnel.

One section with numerous play areas for children has eight restrooms with one of them open during winter.

The other section has a beautiful and wide circular walking path with two restrooms that are closed for winter. This section also has pavilions that people can reserve for picnics and events as well as a beloved train ride.

Furthermore, there is a much longer, and more rustic path that encircles the entire park for those who seek a more adventurous walk with some hills and a beautiful stream.

My wife and I, and I am sure many others, are thankful that one restroom (in the children's section) is kept open during winter as in previous years all of the restrooms were closed.

Plenty of parking and I occasionally see cars from other...

There are a lot of playgrounds you have to choose from, but I frequent this one the most and suggest it over all the other ones for the following reasons:

1. The main playground is shaded with a lot of trees and picnic tables to sit at. This is especially important in the summer months when the weather is unbearably hot and muggy in the DC metro area;
2. The playground is large and has enough variety of things to do for little toddlers and bigger kids;
3. There are nice trails to walk with the family;
4. There is a train that runs on specific hours but the best 12 minute train ride you'll find locally for $2.50 a ticket. Reservations currently required; and
5. For those with dogs, there are two dog parks for large and small size dogs to run around...