Cities / East Bay / Richmond

Richmond

Four venues, 14 courts: a busy free outdoor park, two indoor gyms, and a YMCA club with scheduled open play. Craneway Pavilion, the 12-court facility that dominates "Richmond pickleball" search results, isn't among them — it closed in 2025 and the building remains vacant.

14 courts 4 venues

Where to play

3230 Macdonald Ave, Richmond, CA 94804 Directions ↗
2 dedicated courts $5 per person per visit Level: Not specified Hours: Mon & Tue 9:30am–2:30pm, Fri 9:30am–1pm
SurfaceHigh — indoor gym with permanent pickleball lines; nets are portable but provided, set up for play
LevelNot specified
WaitNot specified

Two indoor courts in a gym at the city's Recreation Complex, with permanent pickleball lines painted on the wood floor and portable nets set up for drop-in sessions. The name used here is the City of Richmond's own name for the building. Adult drop-in runs a narrow window — Mon & Tue 9:30am–2:30pm, Fri 9:30am–1pm — for $5 per person. A second, lower-rated listing at the same address is a stale duplicate, not a separate venue.

4700 Cypress Ave, Richmond, CA 94804 Directions ↗
6 courts (2 dedicated, 4 shared) Free to play Level: All levels, beginner–4.5 Hours: organized play Fri 3–7pm, Sat–Sun 10am–3pm
SurfaceMedium — 2 of 6 courts have permanent pickleball nets; the other 4 are shared tennis courts with portable nets
LevelAll levels welcome, beginner through 4.5; free clinic first Saturday of the month
WaitHigh — consistently overcrowded, with 60–100 players showing up for Friday and weekend sessions

Richmond's only real free public pickleball venue — which makes it consistently busy, with 60–100 players showing up for Friday and weekend sessions. Six courts total: two have permanent dedicated pickleball nets, the other four are multi-use tennis courts with portable nets available from an on-site lockbox. East Bay Pickleball Association founder Darlene Rios Drapkin fundraised to resurface and stripe the courts, with a ribbon-cutting in June 2023; a free introductory clinic runs the first Saturday of the month at 1pm,. Free to play, with a $5 suggested donation.

2200 Macdonald Ave, Richmond, CA 94801 Directions ↗
2 courts Free Level: Not specified Hours: see below
SurfaceMedium — permanent lines, but bring your own net (none provided on-site)
LevelNot specified
WaitNot specified

Two indoor courts with permanent lines in RPAL's gym — bring your own net, since none is provided on-site. The basics are consistent: 2 courts, free play with a $5 suggested donation, BYO net. But pickleball doesn't appear among the activities on RPAL's own website or the City of Richmond's PAL program page — both list youth sports like basketball, flag football, and T-ball instead. Worth a call before a special trip — this may be an informal or occasional use of the gym rather than a standing program. The location shows as open 24 hours on the map, which is a placeholder rather than real hours.

Richmond Parkway YMCA

Beginner-friendly
4300 Lakeside Dr, Richmond, CA 94806 Directions ↗
4 courts (2 always, 4 during open play) YMCA membership required Level: All levels/abilities Hours: Mon/Wed/Fri 12–2pm, Wed 6:30–8:30pm
SurfaceMedium — indoor gym; 2 courts available at all times, expanding into shared basketball-court space for open play
LevelAll levels/abilities welcome; DUPR Round Robins in Coed, Senior Women's, and Senior Men's Doubles
WaitNot specified

A membership indoor club run by the YMCA of the East Bay. Two courts are available for pickleball at all times, expanding to four by borrowing adjoining basketball-court space during three scheduled weekly open-play windows. Requires YMCA of the East Bay membership for regular access; the club also runs member/guest-fee DUPR Round Robin sessions in Coed, Senior Women's, and Senior Men's Doubles formats. Guest fee is $15 per session for non-members.

  • Craneway Pavilion, the 12-court indoor facility that dominates "Richmond pickleball" search results, closed indefinitely in June 2025 — the building was still vacant and locked as of an April 2026 city council report. It's sometimes still listed as open; it isn't.
  • Booker T. Anderson Jr. Park is Richmond's only real free public option and gets busy — expect 60–100 players showing up for Friday and weekend sessions.
  • Pickleball isn't listed among the activities on the Richmond Police Activities League's website or the City of Richmond's PAL page — call ahead before a special trip.
  • Richmond Parkway YMCA requires a YMCA of the East Bay membership for regular access; DUPR Round Robin sessions cost non-members a $15 guest fee.

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