Marin Bocce Federation

We didn’t even play bocce ball here and we had a great time. We spent an hour or so hanging out and watching others play bocce. It was fun and the place is really nice. This is another great wedding venue. If we didn’t book Falkirk Cultural Center earlier last year, we would have considered Marin Bocce as a venue. Mainly because there are some rose bushes here that’s a nice touch for the wedding photos. Really nice.

So much fun! And they don’t make you feel bad if you have no idea what you are doing. They just want everyone to have a great time. The courts are beautiful. The roses smell so nice. There is plenty of room to set up a picnic and make an afternoon of it.

We have had a fundraising event here for the past four years and couldn’t be happier. The staff is wonderful to work with and they make it so easy to have a successful event. They have everything dialed in so you can just relax and enjoy your day.

So much fun. Our staff held our retreat here, and it was a great day. We used the small conference room for our meeting, and although it’s very basic, was very comfortable. We ordered lunch in advance from Muffin Mania a block away, and ate outside in the Bocce Rose Garden. Although we only had about two hours to play, you can still learn it and have a great time. They also allow you to bring wine and beer, so you can just sit back and watch having a nice drink. The staff was great, and gave us some lessons. It can get very hot in the sun, so bring sun protection. There are two inside courts, but were full all day.
Note: Double check your directions on the map systems, most got it wrong coming from the east bay. Also parking is restricted, so pay attention to the signs.

This is the most wonderful place to play for beginners to experts. Everyone is so helpful and kind and most of all fun. I cannot say enough good things about playing Bocce and especially at these courts!

Probably one of the greatest discoveries that I’ve made in Marin County and actually compared to other places are the bocce ball courts in San Rafael. This place is amazing. They have some of the best courts I have ever seen. The surfaces are this unusual sorta rubberized texture that makes playing the game such a pleasure to be there and enjoy. I was on the league there for 3 years and not only did I had the camaraderie of the other people that I played against on my league but the sharing of the food and the wine and the Brotherhood down there was heatfelt.

Talk about the perfect activity for a relaxing Sunday afternoon. I brought the family here to hang out after lunch. The place is beautiful, with nice benches, wrought iron gates, numerous shady spots, and even a rose garden with a gazebo! There are lots of courts and we didn’t have to wait at all. We played on one of the outdoor courts. The only thing to gripe about is that the synthetic surface provides way less resistance than the standard bocce ball court, so balls will run too far unless you dial the strength of your throws way back. The staff person said they will be replacing the surfaces in November to address this. There are very few public bocce ball courts in the Bay Area, and this one is my favorite of the ones I’ve visited so far. It’s a great place to hang out with a few friends, or a large group. It’s kid friendly too. I have young ones, and this is one of those rare activities that children of all ages can play and enjoy together at the same time.

Made a reservation to bring a small group out on a friday afternoon. They provided the court, 9 balls, tape measure, picnic table, and shade. We provided the soft shoes, lunch, and beer.
I have never played on a court so did not know all of the rules. The folks at the court went over the basics with us to explain the lines, strategy and the sequence of the rolling. Oh and scoring of course. The friendly woman then walked us through the first round.
Once she saw we got the hang of it she let us go free to play on our own. In 2 hours the four of us played 3 games.
It was stiff competition. There was name calling, foot stomping even finger pointing. Several attempts at cheating were made but each was squashed by ruthless fair players.
My one beef was that upon paying, I was informed that reservations were not needed. In fact while we were there only ¹⁄₃ of the courts were used. The reason this made me mad was that a reservation cost an arm and a leg ($ 50 for 2 hours). If you just walk on during open times its only 4 bucks a person (that would have been $ 16) for all of us. So I felt pretty cheated getting that information now instead of when I called to set this up.
Aside from that, all had a wonderful time.

There’s no better way to spend an afternoon than at Marin Bocce. We came here with a group of 12 for a corporate outing. Jean was very helpful with the booking and made sure everything was ready for us when we arrived. Cecile was on-​site to help us with all of our questions and to provide tips throughout the afternoon. The BYOB policy ensured my group really loosened up and enjoyed themselves. We’ll be back at least bi-​annually for more team building. And, for anyone interested in catering for your group, Panera delivered a nice sandwich and salad spread for us at a really reasonable cost.

The Marin Bocce Federation courts in Albert Park is one of my favorite spots in Marin. It’s a great place to get together with family, friends, and co-​workers. If you’ve never played Bocce Ball, you will find that it’s accessible to everyone. We had a family group last week that included two people in their 80’s, two 11-​year olds, and five of us somewhere between that. Everyone had a great time. The MVP of the day was our 81 year-​old poppie… he is not a Bocce player, he just had the touch.
The staff is extremely friendly, fun, and helpful… and they love Bocce! They will happily teach you how to play the game.
Bocce is easy to learn but hard to perfect. If you get really serious about getting good, there are lots of leagues to join… just ask the staff.
You can drop in and get a court (we did), but I can imagine it getting busy at some times, so you can also reserve courts. If you want to make a party, bring your own food… they even supply Webers for BBQing. We had our 10-​year old’s birthday party here and it was great.
It is really inexpensive… it cost us just a few dollars to get a court on a drop-​in basis… call ahead to check prices on reservations.
This place is a labor of love… the grounds are simply beautiful… the courts are surrounded by red roses and they recently opened a beautiful rose garden. What is outstanding is that before these courts opened, this park was not a happy place… it was notorius for drinking and drugs and some scary people hung out there. Now it is a little oasis that really serves the community. They have a couple of indoor courts and an indoor «card tent» frequented by local senior citizens. This place is a lesson in community development.

I had my birthday party here last year and it was a blast! There are grills nearby so you can bbq and drink beer under shady trees. The people running the place also give you a quick lesson before you start.
Cheap fun in the San Rafael sun!

How does one review an establishment or business when there isn’t a yardstick in which to measure it by? I’ve been to numerous tacquerias. Numerous coffeehouses. But numerous Bocce Ball courts? Nope. Only one. What I did find out quickly about Bocce Ball was what?
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WHITE PEOPLE LOVE BOCCE BALL!!! We got invited to a party at the Marin Bocce Ball Federation in Albert Park and were there for around 4 – 5 hours and never saw any persons of color. Although that might just be Marin in general…
Back to reviewing the actually facility. The grounds are gorgeous and well maintained. They have a beautiful rose garden at the entrance and then you come to the courts. Are they called courts? Yep. Just looked on wiki. It is normally played on oyster shell courts. Opposed to snail shell I think!!!
Never having played Bocce I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I didn’t expect was how slow paced the games are. You start each game by throwing one pallino (a small ball) down the court and then you and your opponent try to roll or throw four larger balls and have them stop as close to the pallino as possible. Scoring is done after all balls are released and have stopped moving. I liked the game. In fact I may instigate the creation of a Unilocal League. We would definitely bring the median age down at the courts… oh say about 48 years. Lots of old white people love the Bocce.
A huge plus about the Marin Bocce Federation is *drum-​roll*… It’s B.Y.O.B. (not balls nor Bocce but Booze). That’s right, open containers are legit. Just no drinking on the actual court, but that’s cool because there are tables right next to them. Good weather, laid back game, and alcohol. That’s why I am going to create a Bocce League. Keep an eye on your mailbox for an invite to the most exciting day of ball rolling ever!

A mixture between shuffleboard and bowling… how can you possibly go wrong? My sister and brother-​in-​law are children at heart. So they always throw themselves fun, active birthday parties. Last Sat. was the second time we spent my brother-in-law’s birthday chucking balls ever so slightly down a clay runway. This place is the home of older Italian men who meet weekly to gossip about the old days and play some good Old’ Bocce ball. It’s also the home of random birthday parties where you can never tell how old the birthday person is… there are always gaggles of insane kids running everywhere (including across your Bocce court) and drunk adults wearing Italia shirts, standing like guards next to the heaving cocktail tables. Good times for everyone. I’m not the best Bocce players, but my sister makes mean sandwiches and potato salad and my brother-​in-​law knows his alcohol. These things lead to a nice little Saturday… we might even go to Home Depot, but who knows, who knows if we’ll have enough time…

Super fun way to spend a nice day doing something you wouldn’t normally do. Get a group of friends, reserve some courts, pack a picnic and head over the GG bridge to play some Bocce. It’s a great outdoor activity where you can chat, trash talk and find out your depth perception really sucks! I highly recommend this. Set in Albert Park, the Bocce courts are a great for date too. All the flowers make it a pretty setting. Highly, highly recommend.