Playground History

McLean Central Park, located at 1468 Dolley Madison Boulevard, is a 28-acre public park adjacent to the McLean Community Center and Dolley Madison Library. This popular park contains a variety of natural spaces and active recreation areas including tennis and basketball courts, playgrounds, and trails to serve the community.

In 2013, after an extensive planning and public engagement process, the Fairfax County Park Authority Board approved a revision to the McLean Central Park Master Plan. Park Master Plans are long-range documents that provide a conceptual vision for a park and how it serves the community. Now that funding is available, the Park Authority plans to develop new facilities at the park in conformance with the 2013 Master Plan Revision, starting construction in 2024.

The current playgrounds are not only dated, but have needed many upgrades and improvements as well as an expansion to better suit our McLean families. We are excited to see our new playground design catering to multi-age children as well as children with special needs.

Current McLean Central Playgrounds:

Separate Playgrounds in different areas of the park, limiting families with multi-age children
Mulch in a naturally damp area, which attracts mosquitos and causes drainage challenges
Outdated equipment
Very little sensory play equipment
Limited seating areas around playground
No adaptive playground equipment