Great experience! My toddler had so much fun feeding the animals and learning about them. They also have a short hiking trail which was nice. Definitely recommend to anyone looking for a quick but fun distraction with the kiddos.P.s Dont forget to donate! We want them to continue giving our lil ones fun experiences but keep the animals safe in a great environment.

Best place to bring your kids - EVER!!The staff and the way its ran just makes me wish every environmentally conscious person could bring someone who just doesnt know to this place and spend some time LEARNING! Views are to die for and the creature habitats are well maintained by a VERY friendly and knowledgeable staff.

Super fun. Great for kids & curious nature people. We got to hold all kinds of reptiles, pet underwater creatures, dig for fossils, & go on a nature hike. Super friendly knowledgeable staff.

So many water toys to pick from. Fun calm water

Such and wonderful place. My son had a blast on his field trip here, he loved all the educational rotations and all the staff was very helpful, outgoing, and did a great job answering all the kids questions and taught them all new things. He also loved all the hands on learning and being able to see and touch all the new animals. Lastly they have an awesome coffee machine.

This place is gorgeous, perfect spot for a day trip with smaller kids, there are animals you can interact with, as well as a play room. You can also rent the space, it is closed to the public before sundown ( perfect spot for a sunset over the lagoon!) and if you are looking for a not so sandy, beachy/nature wedding or other venue, we had 50 people very comfortably.

Not the longest trail but a beautiful one. Plus I got to meet Piper the pig!

SO happy we found this place. Such a beautiful place to visit and the people working are awesome

Happened upon the place after stopping by the beach. Very friendly staff who were very knowledgeable about the animals in their nature center. The kids loved being able to feed the small pig that they have there, Piper. For $2 you get a small baggie of veggies to feed the pig. Their Yellow Umbrella bird, Baby bird, was entertaining and fun to watch. Would definitely recommend the place to families with early elementary school kids.

Nice Visitor Center with friendly, knowledgeable staff and volunteers. Offers a short stroll ~ 1/2 mile to view points. There are several other short hiking trails that are not connected to the visitor center (you must drive to them). The foundation is working to make a more complete hiking experience by connecting the trails eventually. Meanwhile, enjoy the center - with hands-on, interactive plant and animal exhibits. My favorite - the tortoises.

Family fun in the sun.

Piper is so happy and adorable. Great educational experience with happy animals. I recommend this place to everyone especially with children. My only suggestion is more advertising. We are staying at Carlsbad Village Inn. There are many families with young children staying here looking for new experiences. You should advertise here. Thanks.

Enjoyed our trip to Agua Hedionda Lagoon. Great experience. Very informative. Highly recommend you stop by.

Wonderful education center and a reminder of our beautiful wetlands

Nice little place off the beaten path. Kids loved it for sure. The hike in the area was shorter than expected but still nice.

Everyone was so friendly and helpful. I came with my son and was very impressed by the warmth and knowledge of the staff. Thank you.

Beautiful place, awesome trails, awesome little shop with a bunch of different animals in it. And best of all great people who work there! I was only here doing some volunteer work but it was an amazing experience to get to see the great scenery, animals, and people that work there.

Nice place to stop by, beautiful senery, and nice place to visit

Well designed, informative center that supports the preservation of this precious natural landscape.Really cool back to the coast from the Eastern end of the Lagoon

Always a nice place to hold Eagle Service projects as well as Eagle ceremonies. Nice hiking trails. I have done native American basket weaving before. Cant get enough of it!

Really terrific little nature & native culture center. The bee hive is fascinating. Nice walking trail to the lagoon & vernal pond. Well worth 2-3 hours.

Excellent place to take kids. My family loved seeing the animals and walking on the trails. The staff were very kind and patient with our large group.

A gem! Fun for the kids. Even my 9 year old had a great time. Live reptiles, birds, a shark, a pig, and hands on exploring and learning! Most of the staff was great. Only one minor negative experience with one staff member taking our trash can before we were done with it. She was in a tremendous hurry for some reason. Our party still had a half an hour to go. Otherwise, fantastic experience!

Nice little nature center, popular with elementary school classes to see snakes, birds, turtles, other reptiles. Theres also a play area for little ones. The volunteers are friendly and are knowledgeable about the critters and will let you handle or touch some of them.

This organization does a lovely job educating the public about lagoons and associated wildlife. They preserve land and maintain a trail system.

Good place for kids lots of animals staff needs a boost

Knowledgeable and helpful volunteers and staff, beautiful location, so much to see and do with the kids for a fun and educational trip!

We had a fun and informative nature hike through the preserve this morning that started at the hotel where we were staying, and ended at the nature center. The hike was advertised as a resort activity, but led by a member of the nature center staff. Our family was the only one who showed for the hike, so we had a private tour of the native and non-native species of flora and fauna -- we listened to the many varieties of birds, smelled the sage, and tasted the pickle weed. Our children learned a lot about the native habitat and the threats to the species. The hike ended at the nature center where they got to hold a cockatoo, meander with a tortoise, and see other creatures native to the area. The center has a home-made charm to the displays, and all of the staff members we engaged with were quite friendly.

A neat free discovery center literally 2 minutes from Lego Land. This is more like a small reptile house. They have tortoises, birds, shark like fish, spiders, and snakes. They have a pig but its only available on certain times of the week (I want to say weekdays only).The coolest part is the huge beehive in a glass case. That was my favorite as its pretty hard to find these in general.Brought the kids here and they liked it. Overall its a small 20-30 minute mission to check this place out. I wouldnt build a whole trip around this place but its a nice filler spot when youre in the SD area.

Great place to take people new to town who are interested in seeing wildlife and getting a good hike

Beautiful place to visit with the children! Fun and highly interactive! From tropical birds, amphibians and reptiles to sea shells and the story of Hedionda. Dont forget the beautiful views and kids yoga! If you need a place to take your kids this summer for a day of active interplay this sweet gem is in your backyard! Ages 2 to 12 and children of all ages.

Neat spot in Carlsbad for exploring. Kids would love. Lots of little animals on display. Pig, turtle, rabbit, snakes, reptiles, birds.... You can hike to lagoon, no shade though. Little snacks and drinks for purchase or make donation. Staff super friendly.

Love it here! The staff is so pleasant and helpful! It has a very warm atmosphere! The walks are nice. There are animals to interact with. AND we frequently rent the center for parties and weddings. Ocean view, gorgeous sunsets! We HIGHLY recommend renting the center for your functions. There are a few restrooms, a full kitchen, several rooms to use for different purposes and the outdoor patio is beautiful! Plenty of parking.

My boys (10 and 2) both had an excellent time. Fun place!

All staff very friendly and educational.

Great place to take the kids. Very educational. I would have given it 5 stars but theres not much in the way of hiking trails.

Great place to bring children. Animal/critter interactions and exhibits. Great view of lagoon. You can rent place for parties and weddings too.

Fun place to look at reptiles and hold a snake. We also did a short nature walk.

Such a cool place to visit! Learn about the plants and animals that live in the preserve. If you schedule a tour with them you even get to pet lots of their reptiles that they have.

Lots of learning! Also they have many educational events which can be beneficial for all ages!

Yeah this place is cool I recommend it its so nice to preserve a little nature to go take a walk around this race track of freeways

Rough translation that the locals maintain is lagoon of smelly water. Dug a tunnel underneath this lagoon. Water was wetter than expected but other than that I dont se what the big deal is.

A hidden gem blending environmental science and history of the region. Beautiful ocean views from the Center, overlooking the lagoon. They encourage hands-on interaction with the several exhibits.

Good for school field trips. Animals and birds are not there anymore.

Great place for the entire family in Carlsbad, California. A short drive from Legoland and the Flower Fields; this place should not be missed.

Great place to take the kids

Small but dedicated museum detailing the lagoon. Nice trail walk, though short.

Brought the kids and they loved the sea life and snakes turtles and short little walk -super cool place

Such a nice secret little coffee shop that is empty early in the day. They have a parrot and a pig and all kinds of other animals to check out!

Cute, fun place for kids. Piper the pig is adorable! Walking paths are okay, but all the creatures are awesome!

This place is awesome. Its free and theres some great stuff inside. The staff gives you a demo of the reptiles and there is a little hiking trail in the back. The coffee spot in the front ha pretty rad as well. Ive taken my kids here a few times.

Small little place in Carlsbad. All staff here have great customer service.

Very nice. Educational

Very nice learning center. Good place for kids birthday parties. They have several reptiles on display, as well as nice views.

The volunteers were welcoming and informative. We enjoyed our time there.

Easy access, great views of the lagoon and lots of educational and fun activities for the family.

Call beforehand to make sure there isnt a school group visiting. The center is closed up when there is. The trail is open but expect school group there. I highly recommend going when no school group is visiting. You can request the staff to take out some animals from the exhibit and ask questions about them.

Good for stand up paddle. Its also allow dog on leach.

A wonderful nature center. Great place to take the kids. Wonderful views of the lagoon.

Beautiful location but lots of bugs.

We went as part of a school group. The staff were knowledgeable and friendly. They presented the information in a way the kids could understand and enjoy.

Great place for a bit of wildlife education. the staff here really care about their animals, and keep them in healthy comfortable environments.

Great short and sweet activity for kids and families. Petting the reptiles was super cool!

A nice enough facility surrounded by beautiful natural scenes. I was a little surprised at the non-native species they have on display, but I think the goal is to expose kids to various animals. Its a nice way to spend an afternoon.

The Bubble Guy comes to birthday parties, theres a lot of animals that live in the building, and there are many trails to venture out on... preserving the Carlsbad Lagoon as it is now should be a priority to the people who live here!! They are doing a great job at the Discovery Center.

A little place with lots of learning opportunities. Its free, just check with them before going. They sometimes close the whole place for a certain amount of time when they have school field trips.

Great Filed Trip with my daughters 1st grade class. Guide took us on a short hike down to the lagoon and then they got to learn about and hold a variety of turtles, lizards and snakes! Kids really enjoyed it!

Not a very exciting hike, and weird power towers buzz, but the nature center is quite cool and your little ones will enjoy an hour there. Good coffee cart also! Theres a $5 suggested donation (I think).

Very friendly and lots of wonderful information on w9ld life. The pig and all the other creatures there are amazing and my sons loved the hands-on learning and interacting there.

Such a special place! Great views and nature walks plus lots of awesome people caring for this special place.

Great people. They have a kids camp thats a week long. My kids had a blast.

Took a bike ride and seen this beautiful place, nice beautiful quite place to go

Great place to take ypur child, i loved it

This Lagoon is such a special place. One of the last three natural lagoons in Southern California. Its so sad that the Carlsbad City Council is thinking that a Mega Mall should be built on its shores. Shame on them. Come enjoy the scenery and experience the tranquility of our precious Lagoon. VOTE NO on MEASURE A!!

Went on a school field trip. Very educational. Staff shared lots of great stories. Kids had fun while they learned. M.E.Olea (mom)

Frequently disturbs the wildlife it claims to protect, and frequently disturbs the neighboring residents with obnoxiously loud late night parties

Fantastic space to rent for events and workshops!!!

We come here a couple of times a year. Always friendly, clean and educational!

Love this place and what it offers! I usually come here when they have their yearly 5K, but I personally would love renting the facilities for a special occasion.

A wonder to stroll around the many exhibits. Kids have a fun time there, we took our grandkids there.

Foundation is used as political instrument by their largest contributions (real estate agents an d large contractors). Amount work they do for lagoon is minimal. Basically simple exposition and tiny trail (that needs maintenance) are the same for years.

My kids attended a winter camp at the discovery center and loved it. The staff was so friendly and insightful.

Cool little place to host a party or other social function. Stop in and see their interesting displays.

Fun and informative displays. My 6 year old loved looking at the animals. The active beehive was a definite favorite.

Good for kids!

We went on a field trip there. It was very quick, and did not get to go out and explore. The kids did not get as much out of it aside from getting to pet a bearded dragon, a turtle and a snake.

Am really trying get to know Emerald the bird some more to get know him also I need to start having relationship with him because I want to get to know more animals there good morning friends as nature life

Wonderful center full of love for their community and environment.

Piper the pig is the star of the show. Anna is a dedicated and Engaging volunteer, and a cool person , as well. Thanks Anna!Matt NSan Diego

Become a member!!! Well worth it for the kids, friends and family, plus its a spectacular venue for parties and other events. Hidden gem!!

Bring your kids here. You can learn a lot and theyll learn about nature, wild life, and the Lagoon itself. My daughters have loved visiting here.

Great place to take a walk anytime of the day or night as long as the mosquitoes arent out in full force.

Great place. My kids love handling the animals and its never crowded.

I really learned a lot about our city...

Great location great staff and a great faculty

Main area was closed due to private party. Check before you go. Mostly for kids.

Great place to bring the kids to learn about planet,teachers are great, great for hikes

Great foundation educating our community and children on the wonderful nature around us!

A little bit of heaven on earth

What a great local find for families with young children. We were staying in Carlsbad for a family vacation, legoland, sea world, etc and we just happened on this place because it was nearby our hotel. Its free lest the recommmended $5 donation per person and the staff is incredibly helpful and knowledgable. They took time to take out and let our kids hold several reptiles such as snakes and lizards. They also have a short nature hike that the kids enjoyed. Great for a little down time with the family away from the crowds.