Van Dyck Park is right in the heart of downtown Fairfax. It provides a nice escape from the busy city atmosphere that surrounds it. The park has a large playground and sandbox as well as a sizable roofed picnic area. It also has lighted tennis and basketball courts as well as sand volleyball courts. An open field down the hill from the playground makes for a scenic stroll, as does the exercise trail that runs through the park.
Adam Rice of Fairfax was with his children Isabel, 11, and Edward, 7,. He said, “We come here every few weeks. Edward likes to skateboard here and Isabel likes the basketball. We all hang out here and have fun. We come here during the summer and sometimes after school.”
Eric Patterson of Chantilly said, “It’s always clean and family oriented. I come here a lot. It’s always a fun place, the kids love it.” Van Dyck Park holds a farmers market on Tuesday’s under the picnic area. Betsy Burr of Fairfax was with her nieces.
“We’ve been coming here since they were babies, they love it. The farmers market is great,” she said. The park also has a skate park for local skate boarders, rollerbladers, and bmx bikers, a feature that makes this site particularly unique. “I come here to skate three times a week. It’s free,” said Marc Seikaly of Reston, a regular at the skate park.