My Reviews for Cabin John Park and Clark's Elioak Farm in MD

vtkgirl77

This weekend we went to two new places so I thought I would write up a mini review of each since I know a lot of us are looking for activities to do with the kids on the weekends.

Cabin John Park and Train - Today we went to Cabin John Park in Rockville, MD for the first time. This place is such a wonderful park for kids of all ages. If you enter at 7400 Tuckerman Lane, there is ample parking and a large area with a wide variety of playground equipment. There were about six or so "stations" of playground equipment for different levels and with different types of activities. For the very small kids, there's a section with a train-type structures that they can go in and out of and small slides. For the older kids, there are bigger structures with large slides and more complex climbing equipment. The whole area is well shaded and has mulch throughout on the ground. In the play area, there are plenty of picnic tables and benches in case you need to sit down or want to pack a lunch. The bathrooms were pretty nice as park bathrooms go. I liked that the bathroom building had 5 individual bathrooms that are unisex so that you can go in and lock the door. There was plenty of space in them which is nice if you have to take in kids with you or a stroller. There is a train that is open on weekends through September and it is $1.75 per ticket. They also have a special (non-scary) Halloween ride running on weekends in October geared towards children 8 and under. Overall, I give it an A+ and we'll definitely be going back. DD had a blast.

Clark's Elioak Farm - On Saturday, we went to Clark's Elioak Farm in Ellicott City. It's $5 per person or $4.50 if you have AAA. It's a smaller farm compared to some I've been to and I like that the parking lot is relatively close to the petting zoo and play areas in case you need to run back to the car for something. There's a large grassy area surrounded by different structures and houses from fairytales. I was a bit disappointed though because you can only look at them from the outside and you can't go in. The petty zoo was nice. They had goats, sheep, chickens, ponies, bunnies, and a few other animals. The kids can ride the pony for $2 and the line wasn't very long the whole day that we were there. They also have hay rides for $2 per person and a cow train for $2 which is a tractor that pulls along these little cow cars. There's a pine tree maze too but we didn't do that. It's a great place to bring a picnic and they have plenty of covered tables where you can eat. The bathrooms were port-a-potties which were clean as far as port-a-potties go but still gross. However, outside of the potties they had an area to wash your hands with soap and there were paper towels which made it a bit better. Overall I liked the smaller feel of this farm as compared to some of the larger ones that can get really crowded. In October, they have a pumpkin patch where you can pick your own pumpkin which we may go back for.

WinesNot Whines

Thanks for the reviews! It sounds like you had fun with the kids this weekend.

Mama Angelina

Thanks! I've been meaning to make it over to Cabin John park with O, and the farm sounds fun, too.

JKM416

Thanks for the reviews.  I've been meaning to visit Cabin John and just saw something about its October events over the weekend, so this solidifies that we'll go (now that pleasant fall weather has hopefully pushed out the summer heat for good).

We've been to Clark's Elioak Farm twice, and while the kids loved it, I was so-so.  Getting to feed the animals was a highlight, and having plenty of space for kids to just run around and climb on some stuff was good.  And it wasn't a mob scene with hundreds of kids, which was a welcome change.  Like you said, it could've used a bit more "interaction" intead of just observing some elements - but we only did the pony rides and not the hay ride, train, or maze.  Both times (September and April) I came away a sweaty mess because of lack of shade, and the port-a-potties were so nasty they mad DD cry.  I'm glad we tried it out, and my kids really liked it, but there are enough other spots in the area that we'll try something new next time we have a free weekend day.

victoria1212

A friend had her son's birthday party at Cabin John Park and it was great! DD loved the train.

tracy042206

We love the Cabin John and go all the time.  The Halloween train is a ton of fun too.  Maggie loved it every year and this year Molly will go too.

vtkgirl77

JKM416:

Thanks for the reviews.  I've been meaning to visit Cabin John and just saw something about its October events over the weekend, so this solidifies that we'll go (now that pleasant fall weather has hopefully pushed out the summer heat for good).

We've been to Clark's Elioak Farm twice, and while the kids loved it, I was so-so.  Getting to feed the animals was a highlight, and having plenty of space for kids to just run around and climb on some stuff was good.  And it wasn't a mob scene with hundreds of kids, which was a welcome change.  Like you said, it could've used a bit more "interaction" intead of just observing some elements - but we only did the pony rides and not the hay ride, train, or maze.  Both times (September and April) I came away a sweaty mess because of lack of shade, and the port-a-potties were so nasty they mad DD cry.  I'm glad we tried it out, and my kids really liked it, but there are enough other spots in the area that we'll try something new next time we have a free weekend day.

Yes, I'm excited about Cabin John's Halloween events.

I agree about Elioak. I think port-a-potties are disgusting so that was a big negative for me (especially since DD is potty training). Let me know if you like other farms in MD. I went to another farm once (can't remember the name) but the event was so big, there were tons of people, and you had to park far from the activities so it felt a bit overwhelming. I liked the smaller feel of Elioak but I would definitely like a better bathroom situation.

Hey Jellisy

Thank you, I really appreciate the reviews.