★★★★★
Donaldson Run Park is a hidden gem in Arlington. It's a wooded area that a stream called Donaldson Run goes through connecting to the Potomac River. If you have kids, it's a great spot for an adventure.
Park for free along 30th Street North and Military Road and find the trail to the right. Once on the trail, it hugs and weaves in and out of the stream. My toddler immediately put on her bathing suit and waded up the stream. Along the way there are deeper areas (nothing too deep for a toddler), small waterfalls and a concrete dam from the 1930s with a changing room inside now abandoned and graffitied.
As you near the Potomac River, you'll pass the George Washington Memorial Parkway overpass. A little further, the trail links up with the Potomac River and the Potomac Heritage Trail.