Fodor's Expert Review Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts

At the only national park dedicated to the performing arts, the 7,000-seat outdoor Filene Center (half of them sitting on the sloping lawn) hosts more than 80 performances from June through September. They range from pop and jazz concerts to dance and musical theater productions. The National Symphony Orchestra performs here in summer, and the Children's Theatre-in-the-Woods, running for seven weeks, delivers 40 free interactive performances, including puppetry, dance, and storytelling. In colder months, the intimate, indoor Barns at Wolf Trap fill with the sounds of musicians playing folk, country, and chamber music, along with many other styles. The park is just off the Dulles Toll Road (Va. Rte. 267), about 20 miles from downtown Washington. WMATA provides round-trip bus service from the McLean Metro stop to the Filene Center during summer events.