Meridian Hill Park

The grass has recently been trimmed but the park services informed me that the fountain is having a pump problem and will not be fixed until after July 4^th, 2016. They were hoping to get it fixed sooner the special pump needed for the cascading fountain takes a lot of work. hopefully in the next 6 – 10 weeks we can see it come on again.

Bottom Line: Historic, mesmerizing, significant, dramatic and slightly eerie at times.
While at Eastern Market I saw a lovely painting of sparkling water cascading down a tiered fountain amongst evergreens and grand architecture. The artist informed me the painting was of Meridian Hill Park, also commonly called Malcolm X Park, so I knew I had to go check it out. The park was much different than the lovely, bright acrylic painting by Joseph Harrison Snyder but equally captivating.
Entering Meridian Hill Park reminded me of the scene from Great Expectations (1998 film with Gwyneth Paltrow and Ethan Hawke) when Finn and his uncle enter through the concrete and iron gates of the nearly abandoned Paradiso Perduto. In the movie, the «lost paradise» was full of mature trees with opaque canopies that significantly shaded the grounds. Although it was daytime, Paradiso Perduto had a bit of an eerie feeling and certainly felt neglected for many decades. The lost paradise was very overgrown and in the distance was a grand structure that was shrouded in mystery and partially obfuscated by the wild landscaping. For me, that is how my visit to Meridian Hill Park felt and I nearly expected the theme from Great Expectations, «Living in Mono» to start playing.
The nearly 100 year old park was never intended to feel like a lost paradise, instead the 12 acre park was designed to feel like a formal Italian garden and to have the wonderment of Ca’ d’Zan. The star attraction of the park is a sprawling fountain with 13 tiered basins that ultimately spill into a reflecting pool. A series of staircases are adjacent to the fountain such that visitors can ascend Meridian Hill alongside the man made waterfall. At the top of the hill, visitors are welcomed by Joan of Arc and treated to sweeping views of DC. Also, there is a large grassy area that reminds me of a miniature version of the National Mall. Statuary is sprinkled throughout the park. In addition to the French heroine, there are statues of Dante, President James Buchanan and Serenity.
Unfortunately on my recent visit the star of this park, the massive fountain, was dry. This certainly added to the eerie feeling of the park. Something else that makes this park feel dank and undesirable is some graffiti near the James Buchanan Memorial. I was really saddened to see the tagging on the monument for the 15^th president and only bachelor in the Oval Office. When this park was built around 1919, concrete aggregate was a state of the art construction method but today it is crumbling away from the rebar in some cases. The good news is that although it seems the National Park Service has forgotten about this urban gem, they are in the process of getting a fountain pump repaired so the colossal water feature will once again flow like it did in the majestic painting I saw.
Overall, I really like Meridian Hill Park even though it feels a bit like a lost, forgotten paradise from the Roaring Twenties. I hope the fountain starts flowing again soon so I can see the magnificent water feature in all of its glory and get full enjoyment from this historic gem.

One of my favorite things about living in DC is constantly discovering «new to me» places. Case in point, I have lived here almost 10 months and had only heard of Meridian Hill Park but had no idea where it was located; that is until I stumbled upon it after an art lecture I went to in the (general) area. What a lovely unexpected oasis in the middle of the bustling U Street corridor! The way we approached the park, we first came upon «the mall», an expansive grassy area that, on this gorgeous sunny day, was home to a string of activity: picnics, Frisbee, and a small pickup soccer match. There are plenty of benches for relaxing as well as a concrete surface surround «the mall» that several runners were using as a track.
As we walked deeper into the park, we reached the «reflecting pool» (as it was referred to in a nearby informational poster) and the cascading fountain, which leads to the pool. I won’t discount what others have mentioned: I’m sure this park has seen better days. The water was green and nothing I would even want to dip a toe into, and there was quite a bit of litter scattered around. I am also 100% sure I would not want to find myself alone in this park at night, however, I’d say that about most urban parks.
There are some interesting architectural points in the park too; including a statue of Joan of Arc, a statue of Dante, and a memorial to James Buchanan which contains two other statues in addition to one of the President himself. If you’re familiar with the movie «The Secret Garden», you definitely get that kind of vibe walking around Meridian Hill Park! I’ll definitely return once the fountains are turned on so I can take in the scenic beauty fully and enjoy a picnic in the beautiful urban oasis!

Love the vibe here. Go on Sunday afternoons for some awesome drum jam sessions. Park could be kept better but this is an absolute must-​visit if you’re in DC.

I love this park — beautiful fountain, statues, tons of open space. Said fabulous open space is known to fill up with the coolest drum circle this side of Venice Beach. It’s a really wonderful escape from city for a little stroll or to sit and lounge and feel removed for hours. It’s rarely crowded, so there’s a nice sense of really being removed from the craziness just down the street.

After several visits to DC, I finally found the good part of the city. Meridian Hill is by far my favorite thing about DC. This park is super nice – lots of stairs, some beautiful waterworks, a plaza area or two, and some open green space at the top. It reminded me a lot of the sacré-​coeur in Paris, with all of the stairs and attention to detail.
It was a great time to sit at the top near the open green space and people watch. Everyone here is incredibly young, fit, and attractive, and there were a lot of good-​looking puppies too!

Does anyone know if the drum circle would happen on a warm Sunday in December? This upcoming Sunday is sunny and 55. I also heard that it happens in a restaurant if the weather is too cold. If anyone has any information about the drum circle in the winter that would be great. Thanks!

A great place to hang out! it’s big, beautiful with lots of places to sit or lay out. Check it out on Sundays for the drum circle. Oh and there’s a public bathroom (not 24 hours though).

One of my favorite places in the city since I moved here back in ’03. I usually refer to it as «Malcolm X Park» because that’s what most native Washingtonians I’ve come across call it :-)
When I got engaged a few years ago, we did our photo shoot in chilly December and the park, in my humble opinion, was just as beautiful in its brown barrenness as it is in the plush greenery of spring! Mid-​week afternoon was basically empty and we got some great shots.
This past summer was hectic but I can’t wait for next year-​come through drummer’s circle! If you’re looking for me, I’ll be smack dab in the middle!

While I still lived in the city (all of a month ago) and could walk home from work, this park served as my hiking training grounds.
The steps in this park are certainly more organized than those created in wooded areas but they provide no less of an upper leg workout. And the brave runner souls who do laps provide some great inspiration for those of us less athletically inclined. In fact, for runners, I can see how this might be as fulfilling as a childhood jungle gym. I often saw them doing stretches on the stone benches before taking off and doing whatever these crazy folks do.
For us who walk slowly and enjoy the surroundings, the park is full of natural and unnatural beauty. Every nook and cranny holds hidden sculptures or beautiful fountains or people playing sports (mainly frisbee and soccer) or having picnics to watch while burning calories. And if one gets tired, there are plenty of benches at the peak or bail outs onto 16^th Street (downhill) to catch a bus. One of them is even a dirt path to really experience, for a few feet, hiking. If there were more of those, I would probably still come here to exercise before taking the Green Line home.
Just don’t practice fording rivers in the fountains. That would be frowned upon by the security forces who frequent the park.

Beautiful park that needs a little TLC. Pet friendly! Perfect place to… walk, meet friends for some frisbee, picnic and lounge with a book.

Leisure AF.
After a week in San Francisco where hanging out in a park is practically a citywide past time, I took a trip to Meridian Hill Park to keep those West Coast vibes going.
The boy and I grabbed a blanket and found a grassy spot on top of the knoll and had a fine afternoon catching some rays, holding hands, looking at the clouds, and all of the lovey dovey stuff that people do when they are first dating. We’ve been together for 10 years so you can only imagine how rare this is. :)
People watching is a ten: There are hula hoops, slack liners, yogis, acrobats, artists, birthday parties, and random people walking around with trays of baked goods. And of course there is the famous drum circle which inspired even my rhythm-​less, cold hearted, soul to bust a smile and a move.
Flanked by a cascading, thirteen basin waterfall complete with baby ducks, there is a certain Parisian-​esque feeling to the whole park. All you need is a baguette!
There was so much energy, light and love going around, I half expected to see Joseph Gordon-​Levitt dancing to a Hall and Oates song down the grass.
Simply put, you’ll find me here till November.

We came here with our photographer to take our engagement pictures and there are quite a few spots that looked great for our photos. Although there were plenty of people hanging out, having picnics and strolling around — we were able to get quite a few photos in.
There are other wedding parties taking pictures and even people doing yoga and other fitness classes.
The park itself is really nice. There are plenty of places to sit and hang out and plenty of shade if you don’t want to sit in direct sunlight. The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the smell of urine once you get to the top of the stairs and into one of those recessed areas.
I’d recommend this park if you want to people watch and just relax. There is plenty of street parking around the park and some spots you have to back into so you can pull out of the spot easily upon leaving.

Update — the water is finally on! On my third visit to Meridian Hill Park (since March), the water was finally in the cascading fountain. I can’t tell you what a difference this makes in the overall park and its visual appeal. The large rectangular shaped pond at the bottom now has water in it that covers up all of the square boxes that were originally throughout the structure. However, the cascading waterfall is the centerpiece of this park. The sound of the water flowing down the levels was calming and it looked pretty compared to my previous visits when all you saw was empty levels and a stain where the waterline is supposed to be. The water makes a huge difference in the park and past the top of the fountain there were people sunbathing on the grass and even one guy balancing on a tightrope that he had set up between two trees. At the very top of the park, it looks as though the grass could use some TLC because there are a lot of bare spots, but overall, this is a great park to visit, especially to see the lovely cascading waterfall.

Who ever owns the whistle during drum circle should please stop! It’s drum circle. The whistle is very annoying. I always pray that guy with the whistle not to be there when I go.

Favorite park in the DC area. It’s a very good size, pretty well kept, nice atmosphere, it’s near my favorite part of the city so I keep coming down. Love it. Such a great place on a spring day with beautiful orchids & dog wood!

What a lovely surprise. I’ve lived in the DMV for a decade and have passed this park tons of times. Never thought about going in. Happenstance, brought me here for a lovely Saturday.
Unfortunately I didn’t understand that this Meridian Hill is indeed A HILL, and there are levels to this shiz. The stairs the fricken stairs. and a fricken stroller. DO NOT MATCH. That is all… those damn stairs. Those damn stairs.
You don’t HAVE to enter the park on the ‘lower level’ though. So, once I climbed that mountain, leaving was a breeze *side eye*.
Joan of Arc monument was so lovely. I’ll be back, with a better entry plan.

Review update! I recently visited Meridien Hill Park again (my third time in the past 3 months) and saw that they finally turned the water fountain on! I had previously visited in late March and mid-​April and there had been no water, but now there was plenty of water and it was a lovely cascading waterfall (apparently the largest of its kind in North America).
I do have to say that the water is quite disgusting — it’s green and full of algae, and I’m not sure if the park people do a great job of cleaning the water (we saw newspapers lining up the bottom of the waterfall).
But the park itself is beautiful, especially on a warm sunny day. There are plenty of places to sit and plenty of space to play and walk in. Lovely place overall and I truly enjoy visiting it.

One of the best parks in the city! Love coming here with my dog, views of the Washington monument, beautiful in all seasons, but especially in the spring and fall.
Sundays are great for people watching and the drum circle. A very peaceful, relaxing place, in the middle of a crazy city.

this is an amazing park. reminds me of a very romantic and cozy central park. :)
super easy to get to — get off u street metro and walk a few blocks west.
you’ll love the view from the top and the cascading waterfalls.
love that it’s not too busy and just perfect for hanging out and reading. :)

If you’re tickled with child-​like joy and wonder by fountains, like I am, you’ll love this place. Just look at the pics, that bad boy is spectacular. How this oasis exists in the middle of the city is beyond me. Just a short walk from the main U Street stretch, too, so there are plenty of options for your post-​park adventure. And there’s a surprising amount of space. After walking up and taking in the views, there’s a large, flat, grassy stretch on top where people were playing cricket. We parked under a tree and had a mini-​picnic. It was a shockingly serene and pleasant experience. However, while we were getting up to leave, some guy got arrested. They had him on the ground and cuffed with a good 7 cops around him. Not sure what was going on. Still, tons of people around, so you feel safe and happy.

My favorite park in DC. When I used to live in Mount Pleasant, I’d go 3 times a week. It is on a hill (makes sense hence the name) and it has a great view of DC. There’s a lot of open green space and fountains and people are often working out here, having picnics, or just chilling. If I stretch my imagination just a little, it looks a bit like Versailles in France (again, a slight stretch of the imagination).
One of the best things to do in DC happens at Meridian Hill Park in the afternoon on Sundays: the drum circle. Dozens of people gather with drums and people sing and dance and have TONS of fun.

Just doing my part to bump up the park’s rating to a solid 5 stars.
I don’t think there is a more beautiful, peaceful or relaxing place to be found in the city and it should be really on every tourist and residents «must visit» list.

My mind is made up – who ever the poor soul that is in his right (or wrong) mind decides to jump the broom with me; will take place in this park. Bring on the violin quartets and Canon in D.
I just absolutely love this place. The water cascading down the slope steps, the greenery, the hippie drum circle on Sunday nights playing their bongos with all smiles and dancing… it’s all great. All 12 acres worth. This is a beautiful urban park situated in northwest DC that cannot be missed.
If anyone wants to know where I find peace, you’ll more than likely find me here before anywhere else. Believe it or not this even beats Old Town Alexandria water front for me. To say that for those who know me will send shock waves. Don’t believe me, come see for yourself!

7 years in the District and I finally made it to the Meridian Hill Park! Way overdue.
The park is beautiful. Cascading waterfalls are incredibly peaceful and relaxing. Some cool statues around (Joan of Arc, Dante, others.) The drum circle that started back in 1965 (!) is enchanting.
People are just hanging there reading, having picnics, playing all kinda of games, walking their dogs. Such a vibrant and fun place to people watch.