Selected Barn Dance Venues in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area and Beyond

If you are looking for a venue for your event, and need some suggestions for places to begin looking, here is a list of places where I have called dances before.

  • Santa Cruz Live Oak Grange, Santa Cruz -- a quaint old building with a nice wood floor and stage for the band. Also has a kitchen if you need.
  • Santa Cruz Veterans' Memorial Hall
  • VFW hall, Santa Cruz
  • Green Oaks Creek Farm, Pescadero -- a beautiful old farm near the ocean.  They have a nice wedding ceremony garden and an outdoor kitchen. Dancing takes place on the grass, under the sky.
  • Costanoa, Pescadero -- a coastal resort overlooking the ocean.  They have a nice deck where you can dance outdoors, and some smaller inside spaces if you want to dance during the rainy winter months.  They have an on-site caterer.  Lots of accommodations available if you want to stay for more than one day.
  • Memorial Park, Pescadero -- a San Mateo County park.  A beautiful location along Pescadero Creek.  Limited facilities available.  No amplified music per county ordinance, but we can amplify the caller with an unamplified acoustic string band.
  • Portuguese Hall, Pescadero -- a large indoor space with a nice dance floor and raised stage
  • Optimist Camp, San Gregorio -- large indoor and outdoor spaces
  • Portuguese Hall, Half Moon Bay
  • Odd Fellows Hall, Half Moon Bay -- an old, historic hall, upstairs.  There is no elevator at this time, though they are working on that.  There is a small kitchen and dining room.
  • Mavericks Event Center, Half Moon Bay -- a new space right on the water.  Large deck overlooking Pillar Point Harbor.  Large indoor space for dancing and eating.  On-site kitchen and caterer.  Outdoor wedding ceremony site.
  • Pedro Point Firehouse, Pacificia -- an old historic fire house, now with a beautiful dance floor, raised stage, and outdoor deck.
  • Slovenian Hall, San Francisco -- easy access right off US-101.  This three-story building has a nice wood dance floor with raised stage, bar, dining room, and more.
  • County Fair Building, Golden Gate Park ,San Francisco -- many different sizes of spaces available in this building.
  • General's Residence, Fort Mason, San Francisco -- spectacular views of San Francisco Bay.  Large spaces.  Very nice.
  • Many different locations within the Presidio of San Francisco
    •  Log Cabin -- the former non-commissioned officer's club of the Presidio.  A beautiful old log-cabin structure.  Moderate-sized dance floor in the middle.
    • Officers' club
    • Rob Hill Campground -- The only group camp in the Presidio.  There is indoor and outdoor space available for dancing.
  • Cavallo Point Lodge, Sausalito -- a very nice venue in the old Fort Baker
  • Presidio Yacht Club, Sausalito -- a budget alternative venue right on the water in Fort Baker
  • Sausalito Portuguese Cultural Center, Sausalito -- a budget-sensitive venue with a raised stage and large dance floor.
  • Dance Palace, Point Reyes Station -- Nice dance floor and sound system
  • Straus Home Ranch, Marshall -- Right on the water along Highway 1 in rural western Marin County. The old home ranch of the Straus Family dairy, now with newly restored barn, beautiful hilltop vista for a wedding ceremony site.
  • Muir Beach Community Center, Muir Beach
  • Chileno Valley Ranch, Petaluma -- a beautiful working grass-fed beef ranch.  Rolling grass hills, old barns, historic structures.  Dancing in their old barn.
  • Tara Firma Farms, Petaluma -- an integrated organic farm with grass-fed beef, poultry, and produce.  Rustic dance space inside their barn.
  • Sova Gardens, Sebastopol
  • Triple-S Ranch, Calistoga -- gorgeous rural setting with old buildings.  Indoor dance floor by the bar.  Outdoor ceremony site under a spreading walnut tree.  Lots of on-site accommodations.
  • Oakland Nature Friends, Oakland -- indoor and outdoor dance spaces.  Deck overlooking Oakland and the Bay.
  • Brazilian Room, Berkeley -- very nice hall in Tilden Park, one of the East Bay Regional Parks
  • Sequoia Lodge, Oakland -- part of Oakland Parks and Recreation. 
  • Leona Lodge, Oakland -- part of Oakland Parks and Recreation
  • Multicultural Center, San Jose -- in Emma Prusch Farm Park, part of San Jose City Parks
  • Lucie Stern Community Center, Palo Alto -- part of Palo Alto City Parks.  Large ballroom, plus other spaces available for dining or wedding ceremony
  • Lassen Meadows Ranch, Chester -- gorgeous destination.  On-site amenities and camping.  Overlooking a small lake.
  • Sorenson's Resort, Hope Valley -- gorgeous destination near Lake Tahoe, in the Sierra Nevada.  Cabin accommodations.
  • Dunton Hot Springs, Four Corners of Colorado, not far from Durango, Telluride, and Mesa Verde National Park -- glorious mountain destination in a scrupulously renovated ghost town at 8600' elevation.  Glamping, taken to extremes
  • Brush Creek Ranch, Saratoga WY -- perhaps the ultimate dude ranch
  • Dennison Lodge, Dubois WY -- a very affordable venue about an hour from Yellowstone National Park
  • Wineries
  • Golf Clubs
  • Grange Halls
  • VFW Halls
  • Portuguese Halls
  • Church fellowship halls
  • Elks Lodges
  • Granges
  • Your own backyard

This list is currently a work in progress.  There are many more venues that I will add to this list as I find time.  Meanwhile, if you need help finding a venue for your event, please feel free to let me know about the constraints for your event (location, degree of fanciness and sophistication or rustic appeal, size/number of guests, cost) and I will be glad to share with you venues that I know about that might meet your needs.



Copyright © 2018 - 2019, Andy Wilson. All rights reserved. Please write me if you find any typographic errors or broken links on this page.

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