Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

This unusual national park unit along the Anacostia River preserves cultivated ponds of water lilies and lotus alongside natural tidal marsh. Originating in the 1880s as a commercial water-garden business, it is now the only National Park Service site dedicated to aquatic plants. In summer the ponds fill with blooming lotus and lilies, drawing photographers at dawn, while boardwalks lead into the surrounding wetland teeming with herons, turtles, and frogs. The gardens offer a tranquil, wild counterpoint to the monumental core of the city.