The two biggest green attractions with a Silver Spring address sit inside each other. Brookside Gardens at 1800 Glenallan Avenue is a public display garden, and it sits within Wheaton Regional Park at 2000 Shorefield Road, a very large county park with a train, a carousel, stables, an ice rink, a dog park and one of the better playgrounds in the region. Between them they cover a botanical garden, a proper day out with small children and a winter light display that half of Montgomery County turns out for, all free to enter apart from the specific paid attractions.

A note on geography, because it confuses people and it is worth being straight about. Both carry Silver Spring postal addresses in the 20902 zip code, and both are frequently described as being in Wheaton, which is the adjacent area the park is named for. They are the same places either way. If you live in Silver Spring, these are your parks.

Brookside Gardens

Brookside Gardens is a 54-acre public display garden and admission is free, from sunrise to sunset. That combination is unusual enough to state plainly: a botanical garden of this quality, with no entry charge, open every day of the year during daylight.

The grounds are laid out as a sequence of distinct gardens rather than one open lawn, which is what makes it worth returning to across the seasons. There is a rose garden, a fragrance garden planted for scent rather than only for looks, a butterfly garden, a Japanese-style garden with water and stonework, azaleas, formal beds and woodland paths. Two conservatories hold the tender planting and keep the place worth visiting in January, when the outdoor beds have nothing to say.

The Visitors Centre holds the gift shop and is the practical starting point, with the toilets and the map. Paths are largely hard-surfaced and gently graded, so the garden works well with a pushchair or for anyone who does not want uneven ground.

The butterfly exhibits

The Conservatory runs butterfly programming through the warm months, and in 2026 that includes a Focus on Butterflies exhibit running from 25 April to 4 September and a Sensory-Friendly Butterfly Experience from 15 April to 29 August. The sensory-friendly provision is genuinely thoughtful and is the sort of thing families who need it usually have to hunt for. Programming dates change year to year, so confirm before travelling.

Garden of Lights

This is the one people plan their December around. Garden of Lights is a walk-through winter display of more than one million lights along a half-mile path, with animals, insects and plants built out of light. It is genuinely large, and it is a walk rather than a drive-through, which makes it a better experience and a colder one.

Practical points that matter. Tickets are required and they sell out, so this is not a decide-on-the-night outing; tickets for the 2026 season go on sale online from 12 October 2026. Children aged five and under are free. All sales are final and non-refundable, which in a walk-through outdoor display means you are committing to your slot whatever the weather does, so dress for it. Separately, the Conservatory has run a free Garden Railway display over the same winter period, which is worth combining with a visit.

Wheaton Regional Park

Wheaton Regional Park covers about 538 acres and is open sunrise to sunset. It is the park you take children to when you need the day to work, because the attractions are clustered and you can move between them on foot.

The train and the carousel

The miniature railway is the signature attraction and is the reason a lot of adults in this area have a soft spot for the place. Train and carousel tickets are $3.50 per person, and the train runs from early April through December rather than year round. Prices and seasons are set by the county and do change, so check before you promise anything to a four-year-old.

The playgrounds

The Adventure Playground in the Shorefield area was remodelled and is the main draw: slides ranging from gentle to genuinely fast, multiple climbing structures including nets and a climbing wall, and concrete animals set around a sand play area. There is separate toddler provision, which means a family with a two-year-old and an eight-year-old can actually stay in one place.

Everything else on site

The park also holds a sports complex with outdoor fields, an ice skating and ice hockey rink, tennis courts, horse stables with riding available, fishing, picnic areas and miles of hiking trails through the wooded sections. There is a dog park on site, and dogs are welcome elsewhere in the park on a lead. Parking and toilets are provided at the main areas, which is not a given at county parks.

Getting there and combining it with the trail

Both sites sit at the northern end of the Sligo Creek Trail corridor, which means you can reach them on a paved trail from much of Silver Spring rather than driving. That turns a park visit into a genuine outing: ride or walk the shaded stream valley path, come out at the park, do the playground and the train, then walk into a 54-acre garden that costs nothing to enter.

If you are driving, use the Shorefield Road entrance for the playground, train and carousel, and the Glenallan Avenue entrance for the gardens. They are separate car parks and the walk between them is longer than it looks on a map, so pick the right one for what you came for.

A season-by-season plan

Spring is the strongest time at Brookside: azaleas, the formal beds and the start of the butterfly programming, plus the train restarting in early April. Summer belongs to the park rather than the garden, with the playground, the fields and the shade of the wooded trails, though the fragrance garden and conservatories hold up. Autumn is the quiet secret, with good colour through the woodland sections and far smaller crowds. Winter is Garden of Lights and the ice rink, and the conservatories are the reason the garden is still worth the trip on a grey Tuesday in February.

Accessibility and practical visiting notes

Both sites are better than average for visitors who need firm ground and short distances, but they are not identical. Brookside Gardens is largely hard-surfaced with gentle grading, and the loop from the Visitors Centre through the formal gardens and the conservatories can be done without tackling steps or loose gravel. That makes it one of the easier botanical gardens in the region to enjoy with a wheelchair, a walking frame or a pushchair. Wheaton Regional Park is a different proposition because of its sheer size: the paved paths around the Shorefield attractions are straightforward, but the wooded hiking trails through the outer sections are natural surface and undulating.

Toilets are at the Visitors Centre at Brookside and at the main activity areas in the park. Water fountains are seasonal and are usually shut off over winter, so carry water in summer and expect nothing in February. Both sites close at sunset rather than at a fixed clock time, which in December means the gates shut a great deal earlier than visitors expect, and the car parks empty fast.

On busy days the Shorefield car park fills first, because it is the one nearest the playground and the train. If you arrive mid-morning at a weekend in spring and find it full, the Glenallan Avenue side is usually still open, and the walk across is a pleasant one through the garden rather than a penalty.

Where to eat nearby

Neither site has a restaurant you would travel for, so plan food around the visit rather than at it. Both are a short drive from downtown Silver Spring, where the options are considerably better. Parkway Deli and Restaurant at 8317 Grubb Road has been trading since 1963 and is the classic family stop after a park morning. Downtown, Mandalay Restaurant and Cafe at 930 Bonifant Street serves the Burmese food this town has been eating for close to thirty years, and Abol Ethiopian Cuisine at 8626 Colesville Road is a quick and welcoming lunch. For coffee on the way home, Kefa Cafe at 963 Bonifant Street has been a neighbourhood fixture since 1996.

Picnicking is the better plan in warm weather, and both sites are set up for it. Wheaton Regional Park has dedicated picnic areas near the main attractions, and the lawns at Brookside are open to sitting on, though the formal beds are not. Bins are provided but fill up on summer weekends, so be prepared to carry rubbish out.

Frequently asked questions

Is Brookside Gardens free?

Yes. Brookside Gardens at 1800 Glenallan Avenue is a 54-acre public display garden with free admission from sunrise to sunset every day. The exception is the ticketed Garden of Lights display in winter.

Is Brookside Gardens in Silver Spring or Wheaton?

Both descriptions appear. It carries a Silver Spring postal address in the 20902 zip code and sits inside Wheaton Regional Park, which is named for the adjacent area. It is the same place either way, and it is a local park for Silver Spring residents.

How much are Garden of Lights tickets?

Tickets are required and go on sale online, with the 2026 season opening for sale on 12 October 2026. Children aged five and under are free. All sales are final and non-refundable, so dress for the weather on your booked slot. It is a walk-through display of more than one million lights along a half-mile path.

How much is the train at Wheaton Regional Park?

Train and carousel tickets are $3.50 per person, and the train runs from early April through December rather than all year. County prices and seasons change, so check before you travel.

What is there for children at Wheaton Regional Park?

The remodelled Adventure Playground in the Shorefield area has slides from gentle to fast, climbing nets and a climbing wall, and concrete animals around a sand play area, with separate toddler provision. There is also the miniature train and carousel, an ice rink, stables with riding, fishing, tennis and a dog park.

Can I walk or cycle to Brookside Gardens from Silver Spring?

Yes. Both Brookside Gardens and Wheaton Regional Park sit at the northern end of the Sligo Creek Trail corridor, a paved 10.2-mile hiker and biker trail, so much of Silver Spring can reach them without driving.