Welcome to Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation

Here's What's Happening at Batiquitos lagoon!

Speaker Series

Second Saturday each month| 10:00 am | Nature Center, 7380 Gabbiano Lane, Carlsbad | (442) 320-7009

March 9 | Sea Life & Climate Change

Dr. Nathalie Reyns, research scientist specializing in marine ecology, with research on interactions between non-native sea life and global warming in mild climate regions. Focus on coastal estuaries. Ages 15+.

April 13 | Living with Coyotes

Project Wildlife rehabilitation specialist Kelly Wallace on the natural history of coyotes, how they are rehabilitated, their interaction with other predators, and how to best coexist with them. Ages 12+.

May 11 | Gastropods & Bivalves

Paul Tuskes, PhD, on some of the unique snails and clams living in our coastal lagoons. Invasive species from Asia, predators, and changes we might expect in our underwater diversity based on recent surveys. Ages 15+.

June 8 | Cultural Resources of Batiquitos

Dennis Gallegos, author of First People: A Revised Chronology for San Diego County, and archaeologist for local regional studies, will discuss the environmental setting, resources, and the people who occupied the Batiquitos Lagoon area over the past 10,000 years. Ages 15+.

Explore the Majesty of Batiquitos Lagoon

Batiquitos lagoon provides an opportunity for visitors to learn about nature while exploring the lagoon environment. The Batiquitos lagoon is unique in many ways that can enhance an educational visit. Eighty percent of the lagoon is open water with an excellent trail that runs 1.6 miles along the largest basin on the north shore. It is an easy, wide, all access trail that can accommodate all ages and abilities.

Down the trail as you head east there are riparian woodlands that provide excellent rookeries for nesting birds. Many bird nests are visible from the trail. Our resident population includes Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, hawks and Osprey just to name a few. We also have many migratory species visit the lagoon as we are on the pacific flyway. Batiquitos has the largest least tern population between Camp Pendleton and Mission Bay with active Least Tern nesting sites that have been established to protect this endangered species.

Public presentations and/or walks are scheduled on the second Saturday of each month under Speaker Series and start at 10am, at the nature center, unless otherwise noted.

Public Walks

These are easy-to-moderate walks with many stops along the way to point out interesting flora, fauna, geology or insects. Public walks are scheduled periodically throughout the year, usually in conjunction with a presentation at the Nature Center. Public presentations and walks are scheduled on the second Saturday of each month at 9am. Please check our monthly events calendar for the topic and details.

View Events

Children's / School Walks

Children’s walks are offered for groups such as scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs, and other children’s groups. These walks need to be scheduled at least two weeks in advance. Walks and topics will vary depending upon the needs and size of the group.

The docents of Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation offer tours of the lagoon for school groups. The focus of recent field trips has included such topics as: wetland habitats, birds, Native American heritage and use of the lagoon, insects, geology, sandy beach environment, watershed model, and water quality.

Walks and topics vary depending upon the needs of the class, but these formats are offered: a docent-led lagoon trail walk, or a combined docent-led field trip to the beach environment at South Carlsbad (Ponto) State Beach as well as the docent-led lagoon trail walk.

Submit a Request

Reserved Docent Walks

$25 per person (minimum of six people).

Submit a Request

Self-Guided Walks

Trail guides for self guided walks are available from the Nature Center.

Download Trail Guide

Submit a Walk Request

Please submit the date that you would like to schedule your walks. Most walks are scheduled monthly on Monday through Friday . Walks are usually scheduled between 9am and 12pm for school groups. You may request afternoon walks or different days and times and we will try to accommodate them according to docent availability. Please try to schedule all walks 3-4 weeks ahead of the requested date and time.

Walks generally last around 1 ½ hours and include a tour of the nature center. We recommend that students have sturdy shoes, hats, sunglasses, sunscreen, water and snacks.
The general walk is about ¼ mile down the trail and back.
There are picnic tables under the trees by the Nature Center that can be used for snacks or lunch.
We recommend a minimum of 2 adult chaperones accompany each group of 10-15 students.
We recommend that group size be kept to 30 or under. We can sometimes accommodate larger groups if we have docents available.
In the event of light rain or sprinkles the walk will be allowed. If there is heavy rain or a storm rescheduling is best. You will have contact information for your docent ahead of time in case anything comes up.

Walk Request Form

Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation is a 501c3. For EIN and Tax Information, contact us today.

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