Penmar Park & Rec Center

We have been playing in the kids basketball league for over 5 years. Love the community, great indoor amenities with a small fenced in play area for younger siblings right outside the gym. Andy Felz keeps the center running great and is friendly and responsive to all.

PLEASE PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS!!! look out for your little ones! I’m a nanny and the child I care for hurt herself bad on this slide/​rock climb thing. I don’t know what it is but just warning you guys do not let your little ones slide down this thing. I seen it so many times children go down fast and usually get stuck on the elephant trunk. She was bleeding and and is now very sore. I loved this park but now not so sure simply because I don’t want to see this incident happen again. I just think that the elephant trunk thing is so random and seems to be the only thing popping out. So it can’t be a climbing thing or a slide so what is it? Children can also hurt themselves bad if they slide off trying to climb and can hurt their jaws or tummies so just be careful!

The park’s staff really care. They make this park feel like a center of the community — and I appreciate that.

Great park. We play tennis, basketball, and baseball there year round. My son went to «Little Learners» and loved it. Amazing personnel.

Great local park — the facilities are clean. They offer wonderful classes and day care.
They also have fantastic Easter, Halloween and other events.

This isn’t the prettiest of the la parks (dead grass, few flowers, ugly paths) but it’s large enough for multiple sports; Soccer, baseball, tennis and basketball.
We played on the tennis courts. Our net was a bit damaged but otherwise it was fine. I would probably return if my favorite parks were already full. I suppose this park would be my third choice.

I love this park…
It’s not the cleanest, the best organized or on the cutting edge of technology but it’s old school Venice at its finest.
Count on serious baseball games on Sunday afternoon and beautiful mornings.
The tennis courts are great and the new kids playground is just right for the 4 year old.

This park is not the prettiest, but it offers a lot and is great for kite flying. When its warm I like to get takeout and come here in the afternoon for a picnic. There is lots of space, picnic tables if you want or just find an unused spot on the green and throw down a quilt. And they do have clean bathrooms and working water fountains.
As I said, there are lots of things offered here. Take a look at the other reviews about camp, tennis courts and the quality of the field for games because I can’t speak to how good all that is.

this park was extremely well lighted and was shocked. I play softball and have been for a couple of years. this park was very possibly the best maintained park i have played at so far.

Summer camp– don’t do it if you have young children. I sent my son the summer of 2012 when he had just turned 6. TERRIBLE. They do not keep the younger kids separated from the older kids and my son was terrorized by the older kids. He did not know any better and neither did we, his parents. He hated going and would not talk about it until practically the end of camp we found out about the older kids and how he was spoken to. We did not send him back this year.
Their after school program is good.
But I am not happy with how they have all these different ages together. My son was traumatized for months afterwards about the things said to him, including the swearing and the inappropriate music.
They have a lot to work on. And I heard from sources who sent kids in summer of 2013 that is was no better than summer 2012…

My son is 6 turning 7 next month and this is our second week at Penmar’s sports camp. I have to say so far it has been good. They go on fun feild trips every week. They give you the option to either send money with your kids or lunch. If you send money, it gets put in a ziplock back with the amount and your childs name on it. Last week they went to Knotts and when I went to pick him up, i got his bag back with change and receipts for everything. My son hasn’t had any complaints about the camp. When I drop him off, he can hardly wait to get inside to play. Every week they chose a sport and practice it with the kids.
So far I have no complaints, everyone there is friendly and very helpful. I would recommend this camp.

Review is of the tennis courts only. Do NOT go here on a weekday evening (except Friday)… you will wait at least 45 mins for a court. They are always packed! Lights are manually controlled and go out at 10 or whenever the kid working decides to turn them off! Directly behind the courts are a large play area and basketball court which get loud and obnoxious when you’re trying to play a match. There was a gang related shooting here about 6 months ago but I’ve never really felt unsafe. In general… no good, way better off paying for court time and reserving a court at one of the municipal courts.

I only come here for tennis and for the most part, I barely ever have to wait for a court! The only request I have for this park is please fix the slanted light post!

Nice basketball gym. Floors are relatively clean and great lighting. I’m here Thursday nights for rec games. Not sure about the rest of the park, but it looks more than solid with tennis and basketball courts. Only knock is that the parking is pretty small.

The Penmar Rec Center is a wonderful resource for the Venice community. I play pick up soccer and basketball there with my friends all the time. Really a friendly park too, my friends and I once scrimmaged an amateur soccer team there. Great environment!

The WORST place to play tennis on the Westside! The park is noisy and there’s no separation between courts, so people’s balls are constantly rolling onto your court, disrupting your match.
This wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t also the most crowded court in the area: sometimes we have waited over an hour to get a court. Try the courts at Marine Park (by Lincoln/​Rose): the courts are all self-​contained, the nets are nicer, and the park is far less sketchy.

I live pretty much next door to Penmar Park and it is fantastic having such a cool place so close. Nice clean fields for frisbee, rugby, lying on the grass. Uncrowded tennis courts, pickup basketball games. Rec center with gymnasium and classes and events for seniors and families. Summertime carnivals. Very nice public golf course across the street.
Safe, friendly, community-​based city park.
One of the major reasons I love living here.

I don’t find these courts to be quite the un-​crowded mecca the other reviewers tout. Maybe they’ve since been listed elsewhere. However, the people playing here are generally relaxed and willing to play by the rules of one set while others are waiting. Interesting about the community center/​gym. I’ll have to check it out.

This large facility appears to have everything you would want in a park.
There’s a huge community center with programs for seniors, summer programs for kids, childcare, and a gym.
The gym is closed to the public during the daytime, if I understood the signs correctly. Looks like the kids in the care programs have full reign until after 6pm. So I couldn’t get inside yesterday to check it out, but that is probably where the indoor basketball court is… where else would it be, haha…
I didn’t see the handball court either, however I’m under the impression they have one, from when I lived near that area of Venice.
I did see:
Ball fields, lighted.
Outdoor basketball court, lighted.
Kids play area.
Picnic areas.
Lighted tennis courts, which even have a separate Unilocal review listing:
The Penmar golf course is across the street, on the other side of Rose.
And that’s a separate listing also, with reviews.
Penmar Recreation Center is a big, bustling place, serving many needs of the community. Cool.
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I almost didn’t want to review this because I like the fact that no one seems to know about these courts … but that would be selfish of me and I’m not a selfish cre… okay, I won’t even finish typing such a falsity. However, these courts are FREE (notice a trend with the courts I like the most?), get that nice cool ocean breeze, and one is usually always available. The people who play here are all chill, the noise level’s not bad, and the nets are kept pretty well in tact. No complaints except that sometimes it gets a bit windy…