Where to Play Lacrosse in California

California has quietly become the largest lacrosse state outside the East Coast, with deep youth and high school participation running from San Diego through Orange County, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area up to Sacramento. The climate supports genuinely year-round play, so fall ball, winter box leagues, and summer club circuits all coexist. US Lacrosse chapters and CIF-sanctioned high school seasons anchor the field game, while indoor facilities across SoCal and NorCal have made box lacrosse a real winter option rather than a novelty. Expect the deepest program density in Orange County and the Bay Area, with fast growth inland.

El Cajon

  • San Diego Box Lacrosse League — San Diego Box Lacrosse League · Box · Youth, Middle School, High School, Adult · Oct 13, 2026 Website

    Box lacrosse league played with real box rules, shot clocks and small goals at an indoor facility on the Valhalla High School campus. Offers youth, middle school, high school and adult divisions acro…

Indio

  • Sand Storm Lacrosse Festival — Sand Storm Lacrosse Tournament · Field · Youth, Middle School, High School · Coed · Jan 16, 2027 – Jan 17, 2027 Website

    Annual January tournament at the Empire Polo Club in Indio billed as the largest single-site lacrosse event in the world, with 87 fields across 100+ acres. The 2026 edition hosted 547 boys and girls…

La Jolla

  • UCSD Summer Lacrosse League — UCSD Lacrosse Leagues League · Field · High School, College, Adult, Masters · Men · Jul 9, 2026 Website

    Long-running San Diego summer league at UCSD that mixes high school, college and post-collegiate players over nine weeks of weekday evening games. The same organizers run a fall 33+ masters division…

Los Angeles

  • Los Angeles Lacrosse Club (LALC) Women's Play Days & Scrimmages — Los Angeles Lacrosse Club Pickup · Field · Adult · Women · Local scrimmages and play days year-round, plus ULAX summer league and travel tournaments; events announced via the club's email list and social media. Website

    Open-roster post-collegiate women's team (formerly Tricheck) founded in 2022, with no tryouts required. Members join local scrimmages, play days, the ULAX summer league and occasional travel tourname…

  • Los Angeles Youth Lacrosse League League · Field · Youth, Middle School · Coed · Spring league play from early March to mid-May, with member programs from Palos Verdes to West LA. Website

    Community-driven recreational league connecting boys and girls youth lacrosse programs across Los Angeles County, from Palos Verdes to West LA. Primarily a spring league for elementary through middle…

  • Southern California Men's Lacrosse League (SCMLL) — Southern California Men's Lacrosse League League · Field · Adult · Men · Spring season with a league championship in mid-May. Website

    Post-collegiate men's club field lacrosse league with about ten teams across Los Angeles and San Diego, including long-running clubs like San Diego Lacrosse Club and OMBAC. Plays a spring season endi…

  • ULAX Los Angeles Lacrosse League — ULAX League · Field/Box · High School, Adult · Coed · Men's field leagues in winter, spring, summer and fall; men's box league in winter; women's field leagues in winter and summer; high school boys in summer. Website

    Los Angeles branch of the ULAX recreational league network. Offers men's field leagues year-round, a winter men's box lacrosse league, and women's winter and summer field leagues.

Orange County

  • ULAX Orange County Lacrosse League — ULAX League · Field/Box · High School, Adult · Coed · Men's field leagues in spring, summer and fall; men's box league in winter; women's field league in winter; high school boys in summer. Website

    Orange County branch of the ULAX recreational league network. Runs men's field leagues in three seasons, a winter men's box league, a winter women's field league, and a summer high school boys league.

Sacramento

  • Sacramento Lacrosse Association Youth League — Sacramento Lacrosse Association League · Field · Youth, Middle School · Coed · Spring season; registration for the 2027 season opens in October. Also offers a girls fall program and 6U/8U coed division. Website

    Volunteer-run youth lacrosse organization serving Sacramento, Carmichael, Land Park, Midtown, East Sac and West Sac. Runs spring boys and girls divisions for ages 9-14 (grades 3-8), a 6U/8U coed prog…

San Diego

  • ULAX San Diego Lacrosse League — ULAX League · Field · High School, Adult · Coed · Men's field leagues in winter, spring, summer and fall; women's summer league; high school boys and girls leagues in winter and summer. Website

    San Diego branch of ULAX, a large network of recreational lacrosse leagues. Runs men's field leagues across four seasons plus a women's summer league and high school divisions.

  • ULAX San Diego Youth Clinic — ULAX Clinic · Field · Youth · Coed · Six-week spring clinic on Sunday afternoons at SDSU's Peterson Gym, with one roughly 50-minute session per week and players grouped into U7, U9 and U11 levels. Website

    Introductory six-week lacrosse clinic for kids ages 5-10, run by ULAX at SDSU's Peterson Gym on Sunday afternoons in spring. Sessions cover fundamentals through age-appropriate games, with players sp…

San Francisco

  • ADVNC Lacrosse Fall/Winter Team Tryouts — ADVNC Lacrosse Tryout · Field · Youth, Middle School, High School · Coed · Aug 22, 2026 – Sep 19, 2026 Website

    Publicly posted tryouts for ADVNC's boys and girls club teams across the Bay Area and Sacramento, covering roughly 10U through high school for the 2026-27 fall/winter season. Dates, sites and fees ar…

  • ULAX San Francisco Lacrosse League — ULAX League · Field · High School, Adult · Men · Men's field leagues in winter, spring and summer; high school boys league in summer. Website

    San Francisco branch of the ULAX recreational league network. Offers men's field lacrosse leagues in winter, spring and summer plus a summer high school boys division.

Other locations

  • SoCal Summer Sixes — Buku Events Tournament · Sixes · Youth, Middle School, High School, Adult · Coed · Jul 24, 2027 Website

    One-day summer sixes tournament run by Buku Events with boys and girls youth divisions (grad years 2028-2036) plus men's and women's open brackets. Played 6v6 with goalies on a 60x35-yard field, shor…

  • BayLax (Northern California Women's Lacrosse Association) — BayLax / NCWLA League · Field · Adult · Women · Volunteer-run seasonal play at fields around the San Francisco Bay Area; 2026 registration and schedule posted on the club site. Website

    Nonprofit adult women's lacrosse league in the San Francisco Bay Area, operating since the late 1970s. Open to women and gender-expansive players 18+ with at least three years of competitive lacrosse…

  • Diablo Lacrosse Club League · Field/Box/Sixes · Adult · Men · Winter indoor sixes and practices; spring NorCal regional season (field, box and sixes); ULAX summer season; fall ball scrimmages and tournaments. Based in Contra Costa and Alameda counties. Website

    Men's post-collegiate club for the East Bay, Diablo Valley and Tri-Valley, registered with USA Lacrosse. Plays indoor sixes in winter, competes in the NorCal regional season in spring, and joins ULAX…

  • NCJLA Youth & High School League — Northern California Junior Lacrosse Association League · Field · Youth, Middle School, High School · Coed · Spring season; games played across Northern California from the Bay Area to the Sacramento region and Central Valley. Players join through roughly 40 member clubs. Website

    Youth lacrosse governing league serving Northern California since 1986, running boys and girls play from 8U through 14U plus high school JV and varsity club divisions. Players participate through mem…

Playing in California? Members post their own pickup games and open runs here. Post an opportunity.

Frequently asked questions

What kinds of lacrosse can I play in California?

The directory currently lists 12 leagues, 2 tournaments, 1 clinic, 1 pickup game and 1 tryout in California, spanning field, box and Sixes lacrosse where programs offer them.

Where in California are lacrosse programs listed?

Most listed programs are in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, with more communities added as new opportunities are verified.