Patch Picks: Pocket Parks

Let's put away any silly superstitions about groundhogs and just enjoy what's coming this weekend -- sunny skies, relatively warm temperatures...and, ok, incredibly high winds.

Regardless, it's time to up that vitamin D intake and read a book on the brown grass. Here are a few of the small green spaces in Clarendon, Courthouse and Rosslyn that you can enjoy.

• Netherlands Carillion/U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial: So this doesn't quite qualify as a 'pocket park,' but it's easily the sunniest, most expansive green space near Rosslyn. Plenty of room here to throw down a towel and chillax.
• Lyon Village Park: Yes! This is what it's all about. Lyon Village Park has basketball and tennis courts, awesome new playground equipment, an abundance of trees, and even a water spray area that turns on after memorial day (alright, let's not get too ahead of ourselves).
• Hillside Park: New and improved! But maybe better for grabbing lunch than spending the whole afternoon...Hillside Park offers picnic tables, a modest 'play space' for kids and beautiful, tall trees.
• McCoy Park: Just north of Colonial Village, you'll find this awkwardly placed little slice of greenery. There is a picnic table. There are trees. There is grass. What else do you need to know?
• Barton Park & Rocky Run Park: The most serious and central of the pocket parks. These two have it all...picnic shelters, basketball courts, playgrounds, and even a paved surface that acts as an excellent roller-hockey rink. The location, within easy striking distance of Clarendon and Courthouse Metros make them ideal.

Of course there are better, larger offerings a quick hike away. Roosevelt Island technically belongs to D.C., Fort C.F. Smith Park offers peace and solitude, while the Custis and Mount Vernon trails will whisk you away to the countryside...or something close to it.