Sports Activities

Still looking for fun kids' activities and camps for summer? There's still time to sign up for one of the many classes and programs offered by local parks and recreation departments and other organizations. Find your local recreation resource on our list below. We've also included links to the summer camps offered by the Marin YMCA and the Osher Jewish Community Center.

• Belvedere-Tiburon Recreation

• Corte Madera Recreation

• Fairfax Parks & Recreation

• Larkspur Parks & Recreation

• Novato Parks & Recreation
  

• Marin JCC Summer Camps

• Marin YMCA Summer Camps

• Marinwood Recreation Activities Guide
  

• Mill Valley Parks & Recreation

• Ross Recreation Department

• San Anselmo Recreation Department

• San Rafael Recreation Department

• Sausalito Parks & Recreation

• Strawberry Recreation District

One way to beat the heat this summer is to try out one of Marin's community and public pools. Here's our list of swimming throughout the county that are open to the public and offer drop-in recreational swim hours for families.

All schedules and drop-in fees are accurate at the time of publishing, but are subject to change and cancellation without notice. It always helps to give them a call to confirm hours and prices before you go. If you know of another local drop-in swim facility that you don't see in our roster here, please let us know and we'll add it to the list.

Kentfield

• College of Marin: Kentfield Campus Pool
  Physical Education Facility
  835 College Avenue, Kentfield
  (415) 457-8811

  Schedule
  Monday–Friday 1:30–5:30 pm, Saturday–Sunday noon–5 pm

  Drop-in Fees
  Adults $5, children ages 2–16 $4

Mill Valley

• Homestead Valley Community Association Pool
  315 Montford Ave, Mill Valley
  (415) 388-0137

  Schedule
  Summer hours June 1–September 6
  Open swim Tuesday–Sunday 1–6 pm, family swim Fridays 6–7 pm
  
  Drop-in Fees:
  Homestead residents: adults $7, seniors 65+ and children under 16 $6, babies under 2 free, non-swimmers in pool area $2
  Non-residents: adults $9, seniors 65+ and children under 16 $8, babies under 2 free, non-swimmers in pool area $4

• Mill Valley Community Center Pool
  180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley
  (415) 383-1370
  
  Schedule
  Summer hours June 21–August 15
  General/open swim Monday–Friday 1:30–4:30 pm, Saturday and Sunday 12:30–4:55 pm. Water slide is open Saturday and Sunday 12:30–4:45 pm (children must be 48 inches tall to ride the water slide). Family swim in the cover area only (no water slide) Fridays, 9 am–noon.
  
  Drop-in Fees
  City of Mill Valley residents: youth (2–18) $5, adults (19–59) $7, seniors (60+) $6
  Greater Mill Valley residents: youth $5.50, adults $7.50, seniors $6.50
  Visitors: Youth $6, adult $8, seniors $7
  Deck use only: $3

• Tamalpais High School Pool
  700 Miller Avenue
  (415) 945-3730
  
  Schedule
  Summer hours June 21–July 29
  Public swim Monday–Thursday 1–3:30 pm
  
  Drop-in Fees
  $7 per swim

One of my son’s favorite extracurricular activities is gymnastics. It builds confidence and coordination and, above all, it’s fun! There are numerous places in Marin that offer gymnastics summer camps. Here’s our selection.

Corte Madera:

• The Pyramid Gym in Corte Madera has 5 sessions of weekly summer camps that begin June 14- July 15, Monday-Thursday 10:00 am-noon. They also offer an afternoon intensive program for the more dedicated gymnast. These weekly camps will be offered over a seven-week period starting June 14 and ending on July 30.  Students will meet every day for one week, Monday through Friday, for a 45-minute or one hour class. Cost: $112.00. For more info, go to their website at www.thepyramidgym.com.

Novato:

• Cal Star Gymnastics in Novato offers 7 sessions of weekly summer camps that begin June 21- August 20 for ages 3.5 years and up. They offer a half-day camp from 9:00 am-noon for $150/wk and a full-day camp from 9:00 am-3:00 pm for $250/week. Each week is a different theme that includes: Sports Camp, Circus Week, Olympics Week and much more.  For more info, go to their website.

• Novato Gymnastics Center offers a variety of gymnastics and sports camps. The Preschool Sports Camp is for ages 3-8 years 10:30 am-12:30 pm M-F. This camp includes gymnastics, basketball and soccer. There is also a sports camp for ages 6-9 years from 10 am-3 pm M-F. They are also offering a girls gymnastics camp for ages 6-11 from 10 am-3 pm M-F. Prices vary.  For more information, go to their website. 
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San Francisco Bay is considered by many to be the best place to sail in the world! Guest contributor Barbara McVeigh shares her experiences in learning to sail with her children, and provides some resources for parents who want to get started in sailing.

When our sailboat capsized, I heard a loud shriek. It came from me. My six-year-old daughter was too busy laughing to be washed with worry. My giggles quickly followed. Fortunately we were in very protected waters, and we knew how to be safe and recover our capsized boat.

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Golf is one of those sports that you have to try at least once, so you learn how to swing the club and understand the game. Some Marin summer camps programs offer golf lessons for kids starting at pre-K. Here are some of the choices.

• Marinwood Community Center in San Rafael offers a Junior Golf Summer Camp for ages 7–16. There are 9 sessions starting on June 14, Monday-Friday from 9 am–noon or 1-4 pm. The Junior Tennis Camp takes place at the McInnis Golf Academy in San Rafael. They focus on building the confidence of young athletes through training in proper technique and foundational skills. The cost is $325/per session. Go to their website to sign up or more info.
• McInnis Park Golf Club Summer Camp in San Rafael offers weekly camps for ages 7 and up Monday–Friday with morning and afternoon sessions. Their golf camps cover all aspects of the game with a low student to teacher ratio. Camp ends with a graduation BBQ and presentation of graduation certificates. The price is $325 and includes a daily snacks. For more info, call (415) 492-1800 or go to their website.
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One of my passions in life is the game of tennis. As a child, I took lessons, and I love to play with friends and family.  I love the challenge of tennis, and of course it’s great exercise at any age. It's also a great game to challenge the wee ones and a good way for them to meet new friends. Listed below are a few summer tennis camps in Marin. I will be updating the list of tennis camps as I get more information about them.

It's time again to sign up for the swim team for spring and summer. Listed below are the Marin Swim League local swim teams throughout the county and their registration dates. Click on the team name to go to their website.

Larkspur:

• Tidalwaves
  Online Registration opens: January 4–30

Mill Valley:

• Scott Valley Sea Serpents
  Registration: January 30–February 10
• Strawberry Seals
  Registration: February 8

Novato: 

• Riptide
  Indian Valley College campus
  Registration: February 27 from 10–noon at IVC

• Rolling Hills Stringrays
  Registration: January 31 from noon–2 pm, February 6 from noon–2 pm (events held at Zoe’s Café at RHC)

I decided that I’m going to do something for myself this year—I finally joined our local health club and I’m going to get myself back into shape. I signed up at the Marin YMCA a few weeks ago, and have to say that it was the best decision I’ve made so far this year. Not only am I able to take advantage of the workout room, but our entire family can participate in the classes and programs they have to offer as well.

One of our favorites features so far is the indoor pool. Believe it or not, we have been making a lot of use of it during on these recent rainy weekends, and my kids are able to burn off some energy as well as brush up on their swimming skills. My son wants to join the swim team in the spring and he needs to be able to swim the length of the pool first, so we’re getting in some valuable practice time.

There’s something I love about swimming in an indoor pool on a rainy day. At first thought it seems a little odd to want to go swimming when it’s cold and wet out, but once you get to the pool it’s warm and pleasant and a contrast to the yucky weather going just on the other side of the windows and walls.
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