Castaic Lake State Recreation Area — Attraction in Santa Clarita

I am writing to formally file a complaint regarding a deeply concerning and potentially discriminatory incident that took place on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at the Castaic Lagoon Recreation Area.

At approximately 8:01 PM, the lifeguard on duty locked the main park gate and left the premises, despite being explicitly told that multiple visitors — including myself — were still inside the park. I had momentarily stepped into the restroom, and several vehicles, including mine, remained in the lot with no other accessible exit. A bystander notified the lifeguard that people were still inside, to which the lifeguard reportedly responded:

“That’s not my problem.” He then proceeded to leave the area, effectively trapping us inside the park.

No warning or announcement was given to us about the gate closure, nor were there any visible attempts by the lifeguard to check the area for remaining visitors — even after being informed directly that we were still on site. There were also no visible signs indicating the parking lot closing time, and during our entry and payment of the $30 paddleboarding fee, no staff member informed us of the closing procedures or timeline. While signs near the lagoon noted that water activities would end at 7:30 PM (which we abided by), there was zero indication that the entire facility would be inaccessible shortly thereafter.

More disturbingly, every individual who was locked inside happened to be a person of color — including Black, Asian, and Hispanic visitors. This fact, in combination with the lifeguard’s complete disregard after being told people were still present, raises serious concerns of racial bias or implicit discrimination. This kind of neglect not only endangered us but also violated the fundamental responsibilities of a public employee tasked with public safety.

At approximately 8:40 PM, the Sheriff’s Department arrived in response to our calls for help. I also discussed my intention to file a formal complaint with the responding officers.

This incident has left me and others with a bitter and traumatic experience — our day of recreation turned into a distressing situation where we felt targeted, ignored, and abandoned by a public agency meant to serve all communities equally. This is the first time we have encountered such treatment in a recreational setting, and we traveled from Orange County to enjoy the lagoon. The outcome was not only stressful and unsafe but also wholly unacceptable.

Appropriate disciplinary action against the lifeguard who locked the gates and disregarded direct knowledge of visitors still on site should be taken.

This matter deserves serious attention, and I urge your department to ensure that such an incident never...

This review is for customer service and policies only, not the facilities themselves.

We didn’t actually get to experience the campground itself because of their gate-closing policies, which are unclear and fluctuate. Their website reads that the campground gate closes at 10 PM. We were going to get there probably around 9:30 since we were driving a long distance from Oregon (first stop on a road trip). No problem, right? I called their office to confirm that we would still be able to get in and was told that the gate actually closes at 9 PM. With I5 traffic, we simply weren’t going to be able to make it there by then. So I asked to cancel my reservation and for a refund, since the situation was not our fault. I got shuffled around and put on hold like three times (to be fair, the man I spoke to was very polite and understanding) and was finally told that I couldn’t receive a refund because I was cancelling more than 30 days past when I made the reservation, despite the fact that the reason I was cancelling was because their information was outdated. I was told by the second person I spoke to that the gate is scheduled to close at 10, but that it’s out of their control because it’s the sheriff’s office that closes it and they sometimes close it at 9 or 9:30. The woman I spoke to could not give me a straight answer as to whether the gate would close early or not. Nowhere on their website or on our reservation confirmation emails is this explained or even mentioned. So we lost $30 on a campsite we couldn’t stay in. I’m all for following rules and policies, and it’s not exactly a ton of money, but I’m a little irritated that we were refused a refund because of gate closing policies that aren’t displayed on...

Recent rains have made it beautiful once again. It's a shame that one lifeguard's poor attitude and constant nagging and rude comments while hooking up to and towing our boat made such an impact with us. It was because we called our friend at the dock to request help for our overheated boat. He informed the lifeguard guys on duty and they came to our rescue. They stopped 100yards away and sat there for a few minutes. After a while watching us sitting there and occasionally waving at them, the voice on the PA said "we see you ". We patiently waited and enjoyed the beautiful morning on the water. As soon as they decided to get closer the rude lifeguard started in with "Why didn't you call us? You should have called the number on the blue sheet of paper...." he went on and on about the number we should have called. The other guy was great. He was professional and handled the boat well. The guy who did nothing but berate us just stared at his phone the rest of the time as if he was watching YouTube or something. There were only two of us on the boat and we expressed our gratitude. It was met with nothing but negativity and nagging in an attempt to make us feel stupid for not calling this guy directly. We knew five other boaters on the lake at that time. It felt natural to call one of them. It was the only negative experience of the day. It made us wonder how this guy could be so miserable working on such a beautiful lake. The lake deserves 5 stars. Unfortunately, this lake employee inflicted himself on us. Hopefully we just caught him...