On Sunday, we headed to Virginia for the first time since before the pandemic began. I had heard about Meadowlark Botanical Gardens from a friend, and it sounded like a great place to explore! Even better, it was close to friends we hadn’t seen in months!
The Gardens are near Wolf Trap, not far from the Dulles Toll Road. There is a large parking lot, and all visitors are funneled through a visitor center in order to enter the grounds. It cost our family of five fifteen dollars to enter. All children under the age of 6 are free. No food or drink, other than water, is allowed on the grounds. There is a picnic area next to the parking lot for visitors to use. The center had a tiny gift shop, and restrooms. On this Sunday morning, there were a lot of people here! More than we were really comfortable with, but once we got outside the main building, everyone was able to social distance. Plus, everyone was wearing masks.
Once we’d paid and used the restrooms, we checked out the fish, reptiles, and amphibians housed in tanks within the center. Pebble needed an airlift so she could see the gecko better, but there was a stool near the fish tank.
Rainbow and Stormy both loved the giant bird guessing game on one wall. There were sliding panels that hid the name of the bird, as well as information on that bird. The easiest bird for the girls to guess? Canada goose!
Once our friends arrived, we ventured out onto the grounds to explore. It was beautiful! The pathways are paved, but there are also dirt trails that wind through wooded areas before coming back to paved areas. FYI, all paths leading away from the center go downhill, so you will have to climb back up when you are done exploring.
One of the gardens we saw was the Korean Bell Garden. Gorgeous, although watch out for the carpenter bees around the bell, there were a lot!! None of my girls wanted to go anywhere near the bell once they saw the sheer number of bees buzzing around.
We wandered the grounds until lunchtime. We saw turtles sunning themselves on a log in Lake Lina, and hiked the dirt trails in that corner of the property. We saw the gazebo out on Lake Caroline, although we didn’t visit it. There was a boardwalk leading to the gazebo and it was jammed with people! We chose to avoid close contact and moved on to another spot where we could spot the koi swimming in the lake.
After passing Lake Caroline, we went back to the car to get our lunches. We were lucky enough to find a picnic table mostly in the shade. After lunch, our friends headed home as their little needed his afternoon nap. We decided to explore a bit longer before heading home. We checked out the fairy garden, found a gazebo in the woods, climbed the spiral mound, and discovered a children’s tea garden.
I didn’t get any photos of the tea garden without my kiddos in it. They loved the giant pretend cups and kettle, as well as the little nook the tea set was located in. It was hard to convince them to move on. By this point of the day, the temps had risen quite a bit! Rainbow’s face had turned bright red, and we knew it was time to pack it in. All three girls had a blast exploring, and I loved seeing all the gorgeous springtime blooms. It was a great day out, and I definitely recommend visiting here. Will we be back? Not anytime soon as we have plenty of other places to explore first, but maybe for their winter lights exhibit. Happy trails!