What a horribly designed playground for kids...it's unsafe and not functional at all, whoever designed this doesn't have kids....what a disappointment when we were staying nearby read more

Great place to get a brief walk around the pond and enjoy the birds. Bike riders are welcome there and fishing as well as long as you have a fishing license. Place is not crowded at all. Very popular place to visit and enjoy the outdoors. read more

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Had high hopes for a rich Marin park, but very disappointed as the basic amenities are in desperate need of attention: Parking lot lines are non existent. Grasses aren't mowed. The "Place de la Pétanque" has weeds everywhere, on the court too. The playground swings squeek like they've never been oiled. Mariachi music from a loud stereo is prevelant throughout (pretty sure amplified sound is prohibited, but obviously not enforced). Dog park is ok. Lots of random cones throughout the park not clearly marking anything. The worst was the restroom facilities (pictured). No TP on a weekend. No soap. Overall this park needs serious attention from their park and rec dept. I recommend staying away. read more

Lagoon Park - Nasty bathroom - Parks Near Me - San Rafael, California

This morning my boyfriend and I stopped in to check out this beautiful park overlooking the water! It was so romantic exchanging kisses and sitting on one of their park benches together as we watched as geese and ducks glided their wings through the water! They also had a nice playground with swings for the children and we enjoyed petting the dogs walking by! I would recommend this beautiful park and we will definitely be back! read more

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Stopped here to have lunch today with my family as we were visiting the area. I've grown up in California but never really traveled within the state. Since the plague hit we have started to do that more. I refuse to eat in the car so found this place on Yelp and it was perfect for what we were looking for. Lots of birds, ducks out and about. Relaxing and quiet place. read more

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If you're visiting the Sunday Farmer's Market at the Marin Civic Center, I highly recommend stealing away for a little stroll in Lagoon Park. It's really quite spectacular. As the name suggests, the park surrounds a giant lagoon which boasts geese, swans (including black ones!), and other wildlife. I love coming here because it's family-friendly AND dog friendly (as long as they're on leash), picnic tables + benches, BBQs for grilling, and plenty of lawn space for lounging/sunbathing/you name it. The property which is technically part of the Marin County Fairgrounds is always immaculate and beautifully landscaped. I, for one, prefer this area when there aren't large festivals or crowds. But if you are an event planner, you'd be hard pressed to find a better outdoor venue in Marin. So whether you're looking for a place to jog, ride your bike, rollerskate, or just go for a leisurely stroll, put Lagoon Park on your radar. It's truly one of Marin County's unhidden gems that I just don't see enough people taking advantage of. read more

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Very ugly most of it is a bunch of dirt dead grass and animal feces. For the amount of staff you see constantly zooming around on their go karts you would think the place should look beautiful like Filoli Gardens. read more

Maybe the three times we came here were not typical, but our experience lines up with those who complained about dog waste on the walkway, dogs running off leash and without their owners paying attention, and with kids on electric bikes and four-wheelers going up and down the hills at dangerous speeds (again, parents were checked-out). It was unpleasant, to say the least. The lake was nice and the swans and egrets are beautiful, but after three unpleasant experiences, we'll pass and let hardier walkers enjoy this. read more

Gorgeous! The bathroom showers are invasive! They have the doors locked open and they only have cold water running! Kinda awful! Beautiful location but the whole shower location kinda ruined it for me read more

Plenty of free parking at this family-friendly park. There's a small playground if you have kiddos, along with picnic tables sprinkled around if you're looking for a spot to host a gathering. You can also find benches around the lagoon if you just need to have a seat and enjoy the weather. I love that there are also trees, so you can choose to either be in the sun or rest in the shade. We were able to secure a 3 or 4 picnic tables for a birthday party last-minute without making reservations on a Saturday , and there was no overcrowding. Plenty of locals are walking their dogs and feeding the birds, which makes for great opportunities to see waterfowl up close. There's a set of fountains that is lovely to sit around. There are prettier places to visit, but being that this location has free ample parking in the lot and along the street, and it is easily accessible from the highway, so it's a great park to meet up with others. Lots of people come here to watch the fireworks in July; just come early to stake out your spot! read more

This place used to be beautiful and have great fishing. But not anymore, the geese have taken up residence and turned the water into a poop bath. I recently read an article about the civic center lagoon the other day about 100s of dead fish that floated to the surface and washed up on shore in August (pictures below). Looked more like thousands from what I have heard. A biologist was hired who says that most fish deaths are caused by lack of oxygen in the water. Well he is correct and that is caused by the weed and algae blooms that occur because of the waters ecology. The best way to solve any problem is to remove the root of the problem. What is messing up the ecology? It is simple, it is the geese. Geese poop up to 1 - 2 pounds a day increasing the phosphorus and nitrogen in the pond. Therefore making it ripe for algae/weed blooms. With how many geese that are at the pond and how they don't migrate anymore you can assume that the pond is getting 100 pounds of poop a day at the minimum (not including ducks and other animals). Multiply that by 365 days and you have 36,500 pounds of poop or 18 tons at the park just polluting the water. The geese are super territorial, attack people when they have offspring, and provide no value. A goose swimming in a putrid 18 ton bowl of watery poop does not paint a pretty picture. Considering geese are protected by the migratory bird act, the civic center needs to submit a formal request to get rid of the geese or risk having an overrun algae bloom pond that has the potential to turn away visitors to the fair, farmers market, the park as a whole and other aspects of the civic center. Looking at yelp and past google reviews you can see the most recent reviews have mentioned how there is geese and poop everywhere at the pond. With that said I urge that the civic center look into relocating, removing, or simply eliminating them (legally of course). read more

Lagoon Park - Dead bluegill, largemouth bass, and carp floating in geese poop and algae - Parks Near Me - San Rafael, California

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The Civic Center Lagoon is a great place to meet for lunch. It's super utilitarian- I can meet friend, an ex-colleague, or even my grandma! Everyone loves it. I don't really think it's the very-super-best-most-wonderful-and-prettiest spot in town. BUT- It's soooo convenient with it's ample parking and close freeway access, and offers so much! - There are views of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Civic Center, the green hills of northern San Rafael, and the lagoon. - It's a great place (well, the only place I know of) to feed the ducks (is this now considered bad? It seems bad). - Shaded picnic benches, sunny picnic benches, and other benches abound. - Nice to walk around the lagoon. - Looks like a cool playground. Not that I've ever used it, but... still- you can't go wrong when you add a playground. - Oooh! And little waterfalls. read more

This is the park right across the street from the civic center. It is HUGE for your typical neighborhood park, and there's always plenty of parking. It has tons of picnic tables, and there's big grassy area for the kids to run around, and if YOU want to run around, there's plenty of space for you to get in a few miles w/o setting foot on the street. The playground has just undergone complete renovation! They put in some great new features, like the sand castle building area, complete with a stream!! However, I don't think they left too many things for the the 1-3 year old's, except for the swings and the motorcycles. The new main structure involves LOTS of climbing, and it seems to be geared to 5-10 year old's. My son had a good time, but I can imagine it would have been very hard for him a few years ago. read more

My wife & I used to take our kids to the lagoon area years ago. At that time, there were many ducks of different species along with some geese. The grass area next to the lagoon was fine to put a blanket down on, to enjoy the sun and scenery. Now, the ducks are gone, chased away by the VERY MANY aggressive geese. The great numbers of geese do their poo number all over the grassy area, so it is not a good idea to lay any blanket down. If you have small kids, the geese may scare them. It is a SHAME that the administration of the Civic Center don't care about the serious deterioration of this area. They need to take steps to reduce the number of geese and their poo on the grass! There are services that can do this. read more

I was in Marin to spend some of my Costco rebate at the wine-lover's-paradise Novato store, and my little pup demands that whenever we travel, we stop at a new dog park - he's high maintenance that way. Bring your pup here, go to the dog park, and walk around the lagoon next time you're in Marin. The dog park is off-leash, but you can walk on-leash around the park. Great views, nice people - a nice little oasis away from urban life. read more

Lovely park, good for walking and bringing the dog. Would recommend for families with children and large groups. There are ducks and geese here, as well as picnic tables and bbq pits. read more

Was looking for a place to eat our dinner outside. This was perfect! The day was gorgeous but the park was pretty empty. There's picnic tables to dine inside by the child play structures and grassy areas, plus some along the side of the lagoon. Ducks and geese were present and fun to watch. PLENTY of parking, both in the lot and along the street. Walking trail around the lagoon. Lots of space and pretty clean. read more

I just went to this park yesterday. It has so many cool features like a big xylophone, a climbing structure and a little water controlled kid sized river with sand. Very cool. read more

A great place to take your kids to run around, play at the park or feed the ducks. Even for a nice walk with a friend or a love one. I love just throwing a blanket down and having lunch with my family by the pond. It's also a perfect place to fly a kite on a windy day! read more

Great park, good for dogs and kids. Nice walk, look at the ducks. Watch out for the coyotes and you're OK.

I took my grandson, who just turned six. We liked it all very much - there's opportunity for a lot of creative play. We really didn't understand some of the playground equipment, though. There is a slide that you can't really slide on, or climb up. I saw half a dozen kids try to go up it, and just give up. There are some chair-type things, up high, that you can just sit in - we didn't see the point. And the climbing walls are awfully steep, with not good places for your feet. Seemed dangerous. But the xylophone thing is great, and the opportunity for a long beautiful walk is super too. read more

Me and my friend came here and it rained so we went to get lunch and they treated us like hoes. The banana my brother got wasn't thick enough for his delightment. And my friends sandwich was upside down talk about bad food read more

This was a joke. I got kicked off a ride because people in front of me were throwing chapstick throughout the line up to the ride. I didn't know these people and was yet assicated with them at all yet I was still kicked off by the rude operator. If this is supposed to be an amusement park, you failed, I am not amused. Also I got sunburned 0/10 read more