Kids activities close to home

Recreational and competitive youth soccer on the west side since the 1970s.

PYSL is Petaluma's homegrown soccer league, a nonprofit that has run developmental and recreational divisions for decades for ages 4-19. The fall season runs from about July through October on the Prince Park fields, registration for this season opened in April at $130 per player, and registration was still open on the league's own page as of September 2026, with financial aid available to families who need it. When your kid wants more than rec soccer, the club path out of Petaluma runs through North Coast Futbol Club at the higher level.

Softball at Prince Park and the town's other Little League side.

Girls' softball plays its spring and summer seasons on the diamonds of Prince Park, and Petaluma American and Petaluma National Little League are the companion baseball leagues to Petaluma Valley. All three open registration in the spring through their own league pages, and the most popular age divisions fill within a few weeks.

Indoor soccer clinics and a giant winter basketball league at Lucchesi Park.

The Boys & Girls Clubhouse at Lucchesi Park runs one of the city's busiest youth sports operations: an indoor soccer clinic for grades 2-6 and a winter basketball league for grades 3-9, with beginner and intermediate basketball clinics for K-2. Club membership keeps activity fees low, financial aid is available, and the club's before- and after-school programs make it one of the best values in town.

Primary ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop for ages 2 to 7, then academy.

Petaluma School of Ballet teaches a classic syllabus out of its N McDowell Boulevard studios. The Primary Division runs ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop classes for the smallest dancers ages 2-7, and dancers who love it move into the academy and conservatory divisions for a real technical foundation.

Ballet, jazz, musical theater, and improv for kids 4-18 downtown.

On Petaluma Boulevard North, the O'Brien Center leans musical and performance: ballet and jazz, lyrical and contemporary, musical theater troupes, and improv. It's where the town's stage-kid crowd rehearses, and the studios also run the kind of recital cultures that carry your kid one show to the next.

Cub packs and Boy Scout troops meeting all across town.

Scouting in Petaluma is a pair of well-visited packs and troops: Scouts BSA Troop 74 and Troop 7 (boys and girls), all independently chartered, plus the all-female Troop 848. Cub Scout packs work out of several churches around town including Elim Lutheran's downtown program. Dens meet weekly in fall and winter and cluster to weekend camps, and joining a pack is as easy as emailing the Cubmaster of the unit with your child's age.

Youth baseball and softball for ages 4-13, plus Novato Babe Ruth for teens.

Novato South Little League runs youth baseball for ages 4 through 13, with T-Ball and machine pitch up through the Majors divisions. Registration opens in the fall and again in the spring for the summer season, and volunteer coaches are the backbone of the league. Players who age out of youth baseball graduate to Novato Babe Ruth for ages 13-18.

In-house rec soccer, plus the North Marin United club for competitive teams.

The Novato Youth Soccer Association (NYSA) runs a fall in-house recreational league from pre-k/k through high school, with players grouped by neighborhood and school. As of late summer 2026 the fall 2026 divisions are full and the league is taking waitlist registrations only, in whatever divisions have space, on a first-come, first-served basis. For more challenge, the same club's North Marin United fields competitive teams. Winter indoor soccer with the Novato Youth Center and the next full NYSA season are the ways in for families who missed the fall window, so watch the league's registration page for the next opening.

Youth basketball, swim lessons, summer camps, and year-round classes.

The City of Novato Parks, Recreation & Community Services Department is the one stop for it all: youth basketball leagues run with the North Bay Basketball Academy, parent-and-child swim lessons at Hamilton Community Pool from age 6 months on up, tennis and pickleball classes, and camps and sports camps every summer. All registration lives on the department's registration site, and the catalog is the town's best-kept secret.

Preschool and recreational gymnastics, plus an age group team.

The City of Novato's own gymnastics center on 7th Street offers preschool gymnastics for ages 1-5, recreational classes for ages 5-15, and a competitive team, with the class schedule published each quarter. It is a city program, so it comes with the department's scholarship help and the good-neighbor price of a municipal operation.

Splitz, Rhythms, Studio 4 Art, and Watts Music make the master list.

Novato's arts network covers every kid's interest: Splitz Dance Academy and Rhythms Performing Arts run the studio dance and musical theater rooms, Studio 4 Art leads small group painting and ceramics classes on 2nd Street, and Watts Music and Oneto Music School teach piano, guitar, and band instruments. Each runs open enrollment at the start of the school year and again in January, and most let you try a first class for free.

Cub Scout packs, Scouts BSA troops, and a Girl Scouts Summer Day Camp.

Scouting is alive and well organized in Novato. Cub Scout Pack 27 serves southern and central Novato for grades K-5, Pack 85 serves the same grades out of the Presbyterian Church of Novato, and Scouts BSA Troop 42 is the longtime troop in town. Girl Scouts of Northern California's North Bay service unit runs the Novato Girl Scouts Day Camp each summer, a beloved day-camp tradition with badges, scoutcraft, and outdoor games.