Libraries worth a trip with kids around Washington DC
Every Montgomery County Public Libraries branch has a children's area meant for toddlers to actually play in, shelves of Chinese, Spanish and Korean picture books, and several storytimes a week. Spending a wet morning there for free is a DC-parent consensus, and the Arlington and Fairfax county libraries across the river are just as good.
The whole second floor of Rockville Memorial Library is the children's room, with the Town Square fountain outside; Bethesda is a short walk from ice cream on Bethesda Row; Silver Spring is a glass tower with the children's area up high looking over the city; and Germantown sits next to BlackRock Center for the Arts and its kids' shows. Downtown, the MLK central library has an indoor slide and a rooftop garden; Arlington Central Library has a playground at the door; and the City of Fairfax Regional Library is steps from Old Town and Van Dyck Park.
- 7 places
- 7 free
- 7 stroller-friendly
- closest is 5 min away
7 places
Drive times from Rockville
Rockville Memorial Library
5.0Rockville · 5 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Rockville Town Square garage, 2 hours free with library validation; 5-minute walk from Rockville station on the Metro Red Line
Bethesda Library
5.0Bethesda · 15 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Small free lot behind the library and metered street parking on Arlington Rd
Germantown Library
5.0Germantown · 15 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot shared with the BlackRock arts center
Silver Spring Library
5.0Silver Spring · 20 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: County garage on Wayne Ave, free on weekends; 8-minute walk from Silver Spring station on the Metro Red Line
Arlington Central Library
5.0Arlington · 30 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot beside the library; Metro Orange/Silver to Virginia Square and a 5-minute walk
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (DC central library)
5.0Washington · 35 min drive
2 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Downtown garages from $15; easiest by Metro to Gallery Place-Chinatown or Metro Center, 3-minute walk
City of Fairfax Regional Library
5.0Fairfax · 35 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free garage under the library
💡 Good to know
- Look up storytimes by branch on each county's library site; Saturday-morning family storytime is the popular one, so arrive 10 minutes early.
- Parking at MCPL: the Town Square garage is validated free for the Rockville branch, and the county garage by the Silver Spring branch is free on weekends.