Carlsbad Lagoon

Awesome things to do right in the Lagoon, there are many things to rent here, we’ve only tried the kayaks but it was pretty fun

This place can’t be beat! The folks who work here are very helpful and happy people. About 6 months ago I started coming here to waterski and have been out 11x since. I have my own ski boat, but there’s a lot to be said for the convenience factor of having a boat in the water with all the desired equipment ready! I wouldn’t put my boat in salt water anyways. The water is usually relatively flat with the exception of a little wind chop. The pricing is also very fair in my opinion. Those who don’t want to pay for private access should just go to the beach. For me, this place is more fun though.

What a fun experience! We had a large group that used paddle boards and kayaks. They guys on the beach were super helpful and accommodating! Highly recommended! We will definitely come here again!

Really cool place to spend the day. Lots to do, beautiful San Diego weather year round to enjoy it in, and overall just a good, gorgeous place to hang out, bring guests and kids, and have a stereotypical southern california day.

What a great place to spend the day! I had heard about it a few years ago but didn’t realize how many things there were to do. We came down and rented paddle boards. Had a fun time exploring the lagoon. If you go rent them for at least two hours. One was just not enough. i’m coming back to wakeboard next time. They also had a lot of other toys for rent that looked fun.

So much fun! Got a groupon for paddle boarding and it was definitely worth it. Nice view with great weather (I went during the summer). You will also see some fishes :)

Thanks for letting me know that this page is for the business that rents the kayaks, SUPs, etc. I have actually been there already, so I will update my review to mention my experience renting Kayaks.
We had some family in town 2 years ago, so decided to rent some kayaks. We rented some 2 person kayaks, and then paddled down to the Public entrance area (By Bayshore street) where we had also some paddle boards. Everyone had a great time, and my family remembers that day as one of their favorite days in Southern California.
The equipment was a bit pricey, although I have seen that they sometimes run promos on Groupon or Living Social. Also weekends can be crowded, but I have driven by on weekdays and there is almost nobody there, so that is a great time to go.
I wonder if swimming is allowed on the lagoon in the area where this business is located? Maybe the owners can comment about that, since swimming has recently been prohibited on the Lagoon access on Bayshore street. Is there an area near this business where people can play/​swim in the water while others paddle board nearby?

Fun for the whole family! + Great deal on Groupon! = WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT???
Did quick & short getaway befofe the school starts. Nice group of people running the place too.

The Carlsbad Lagoon sits right off the 5 freeway and serves as a place for some fun on the water. It’s located off a residential road and there isn’t much parking down there, so it can get busy if you don’t get there early. The place that rents out stuff is located right off the water and they are open every day of the week. In my opinion I think what they charge to rent equipment is quite crazy for the amount of time. My friend wanted to come here to try out stand up paddle boarding, so we went with prices anyway. To rent a stand up board for two hours is $ 50 per board. (Yikes). The passive use area for boards takes about 40 minutes to paddle out to from the shore. Once you get out there, there is a really large open area for exploring the lagoon. We made the mistake of going on a day where it was supposed to reach the high 90s. So we didn’t really explore the lagoon too long because the sun was cooking us.
Anyhow, the lagoon was a fun place to try out stand up boards for the first time. The water is relatively clean and is quite warm in the summer time. I just think the place is a bit more aimed towards tourists considering it cost so much to rent the equipment. I wouldn’t come back here anytime soon, but I did have a fun time.

Brought my daughter here to take on the stand up paddle board and beat the heat. Got a great deal in living social for 2 hours. Easy to find. The staff was great. We had a great time. Will definitely be back.

I got the groupon. We planned on canoeing but the waves were a little intense so they suggested a double kayak. The water was pretty cloudy and not as clean as I thought it would be. They need a map because we ended up at some private small shoreline (which was still nice) but I don’t think we ever went ‘into’ the lagoon.
Overall, great exerience!!!

1^st time here at Carlsbad Lagoon. Came to SUP, we brought our own boards but we’re charge a permit fee $ 10 + $ 8 for launching fee per board. Geez! Adds up because we brought 4 boards with us. Should have went to mission bay. The prices here are on the higher end for most of their rentals.
They have a small parking lot located right by the beach. So if you arrive early enough you can snag a spot. If not, there is parking right outside but then you have to carry your stuff down a hill.
There is A restroom– 1 for women & 1 for men. A small store for drinks and other miscellaneous stuff you might need.
Good points: it’s a safe place for kids to splash around. They have many people out in the water and on the beach monitoring the use of equipment.
Tables & chairs are available (plenty of chairs only a few tables) Get there early to get a picnic bench.
1 volleyball court set up on the west side of the lagoon & a ping pong table located next to the store.

I love finding an affordable place for family fun! We love it here. Employees are super friendly and helpful. The water is perfect the toys are fun. Our favorites are paddle boarding and kayaking. We had my daughters birthday there today and everything was so chill and fun. We will be back as much as possible!

Yet, another fantastic day at this lagoon. Perfect clear not so hot beautiful day playing with the wave runners. these are the jet skiis for fat people like my son and my self. Plenty of employees to help you out and they are great. I don’t know if Josh Cantor owns this place but he got this lagoon like a well oiled machine.
I invite you to give this place a try its just off the TAMARACK exit North First right, then first right again then first left down the hill into the lagoon.
Well worth the price for the fun and making my son happy. We will return at least 2 more times this summer.
Weekends its pack… but don’t worry more bikinis to look at while you wait for your equipment. lol
Only thing missing is over night summer camp for kids and young adults… Huntington Beach too far for daily commute.
A MUST DO ACTIVITY EVERY SUMMER.

Love this place! The staff was always friendly and courteous. The owner was around and was polite. My kids enjoyed the summer camp! Tubing, wake boarding, paddle boarding, and all supervised! Thanks for the memories!

I’ve been here a few times with my family, since 2010. My favorite time was in 2012 when we rented kayaks to go kayaking together. My husband had the GoPro camera attached to the front of the kayak and for whatever reason, he wanted to move it to the side of the kayak. Eventually, it fell in the water. The floater attached to the GoPro didn’t make it float and my husband jumped in with his persols sunglasses to get it. The water was so muggy that he couldn’t see anything, so he lost his GoPro and his Persol sunglasses, both of which he replaced the same day. He went back there to snorkel to try and find it but the water was just too muggy for him to see anything. Somewhere down there in the water is our GoPro and my husband’s sunglasses, lol.
Later that day, we did the paddle boarding and hung out together. There’s not a big of a spot for you to sit and camp out your stuff, but if you do get a spot, it’s pretty nice. We plan to come back here again soon to kayak again, this time, NO GOPRO cameras!

A friend and I went to Carlsbad Lagoon to do some flat water SUPing. I had passed it a bunch of times on I-​5 and thought it looked like a lot of fun.
When we got there it looked nice enough. My friend rented a SUP and it cost her $ 50 for 2 hours, which is on the high side for rentals that I have seen in the San Diego area. The rentals are good quality boards, and as a beginner she had no problem getting the hang of it. I brought my own board but was surprised by the fact that I would be charged a $ 15 fee just to put in, as well as required to purchase a $ 9 permit. Permit? For what?!? I wasn’t fishing or something…
We shrugged off the annoying hidden costs in favor of trying out a new spot. The lagoon itself is nice enough, but paddling from the dock area to the calm area was a nightmare once the jets skis got going. We never fell off but it was kind of a pain. It wasn’t all that busy the day we were there, so I can only imagine the mess you run into when you factor in ski boats too.
Once we got to the No Wake area the scenery was pretty nice and we got to see herons and lots of fish jumping. But to be honest, the area had quite the stench and the view of the huge stacks from the plant nearby was lacking. We also saw quite a bit of trash floating in the water.
There is no parking here, except what you might be able to find on a steep gravel hill. I brought my own SUP and the best way to put in was to unload the board at the water’s edge then park. Otherwise I would have been hauling it down and up a very steep hill.
I love to SUP, but I wish there were more options for flat water SUP in N County. Honestly, I have zero desire to ever go back to Carlsbad Lagoon. I will just head south to Mission Bay instead. There is no comparison.

Loved this place! I used a Groupon I found for $ 27 for 2 hours. There’s a lot of activities for all ages. We did the Aqua Cycle. It was fun at first but then it was a ton of work to pedal against the wind. At the end of the lagoon there’s a little beach where you can get out and hang out for a bit. It was definitely a super fun activity but I would like to try the canoe next time. All of the staff was really helpful and friendly. We didn’t have to wait at all.

What a pleasant day, warm weather, cool water, what a blast.
Decided I wanted to go SUPing for my birthday so a few friends and I bought a groupon and headed out.
I had never been to the lagoon before but knew about the rentals, I decided to pick here over the harbor because I wanted to avoid boats.
Check in went smoothly the girls at the front office were helpful. We headed out to get going. The guys at the launching point were very laid back and seemed a little unorganized when it came to multiple parties trying to head out at one time.
We ended up spending some time standing around before anyone helped us because of this. Same thing when we came back, there really wasn’t much organization with who do we check in with and say we are back to? To be honest since they don’t have any identifiers we weren’t really sure who was even working or just there for fun.
Their attitude wasn’t off putting or anything just typical teenager probably rather be on the water than working. All seemed nice though.
The groupon gave us $ 27 for two hours of paddle boarding and it really was a great deal. We started at 11am on a Saturday and there wasn’t many people on the water. It definitely got busier and more crowded as we came back in.
I wasn’t confident enough to stand on our way back in because the boats and jet skies where causing waves that ended up knocking one of my friends who’s been multiple times into the water (but seriously who cares it’s a water sport not a sit on water and stay dry sport)
Once we had paddled out past the boat area of the lagoon though it was a really relaxing day :)
I’ve found a new hobby and will definitely be back for more

This is a relaxing lagoon that is perfect for a morning or afternoon stroll with your dog. You can get to it by parking on Carlsbad Blvd and walking across the street or by going a back way off of Garfield Street. Parking is free at both areas. If you park on Garfield Street, you will have to walk down a gradual hill until you get to the water.
The many times that I have been there have been just for fishing. I have had good and bad days. I have mostly caught bass here with friends who have reported halibut. You will need a fishing license with a salt water permit added into it. You can walk all along the lagoon up till you get under the train tracks and then there is a fence to stop you.
There are a couple benches to sit on, but they are usually taken. Some people have bonfires here as evidence by rock circles with charred embers inside, but I’m not sure if it is legal. It is part of the power plant so there are some man made machines that ruin the natural beauty of the lagoon. People do not usually swim here. There are no jet skis or any motored water sport vehicles here.
Check this place out when in the area and going for a stroll with the dog or if you want to test your luck on a fishing line.