Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

Last summer, I went to the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens to see the lotus flowers and water lilies. My coworker had told me about the Lotus & Water Lily Festival the year before, but I hadn’t made it in time to see the blooms. This summer, I was determined to see the aquatic gardens during peak season and take way too many pictures of the beautiful flowers. And that’s exactly what I did.

I had to get there early because it was supposed to get really hot on the day I decided to go, and the lotuses can close up in the heat. I made an entire spreadsheet with multiple tabs for the packing list, a map of the aquatic gardens and Anacostia River Trails, special events being offered that day, and a link to the Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens alerts and conditions webpage. I was definitely overprepared because I didn’t end up going to any of the special events or walking along the river; there was so much to see just walking around exploring the gardens all day.

Should you ever want to attend the Lotus & Water Lily Festival, please feel free to make use of the maps above and my non-exhaustive packing list.

These two very kind visitors standing near me while I was taking photos noticed my camera and pointed out a turtle in one of the ponds. It was so cute! Oh, to be a turtle climbing onto a lily pad on a sunny July afternoon…