Ventura County - 68 Attractions You Must Visit

ae8a6c5b-48d0-4608-b733-de226792219f

About Ventura County

Historically inhabited by the Chumash people, with their presence dating back 10,000-12,000 years. Known for their rock paintings and for their great basketry, the Chumash were hunter-gatherers, fishermen, and also traders with the Mojave, Yokuts, and Tongva Indians.

Types of Attractions in Ventura County

Activities Around

List of Attractions in Ventura County

Gardens of the World

Gardens of the World

Botanical Gardens

A beautiful botanical garden located in Thousand Oaks, California, situated directly across Thousand Oaks Boulevard from Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. It is home to a French garden and waterfall, an English rose garden, an Italian grapevine garden and a Japanese garden with koi ponds and a pagoda. The park is used for walking and picnicking, and guided tours of the gardens are available.

Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village

This is an art environment, located in Simi Valley, California. It was created by Tressa "Grandma" Prisbrey from the 1950s to the 1970s. Prisbey built a "village" of shrines, walkways, sculptures, and buildings from recycled items and discards from the local landfill. It has been designated as a historical landmark by the City of Simi Valley.

Heritage Square

Heritage Square

Iconic Buildings

Heritage Square is by far an exceptionally original and notably historic part of Oxnard. The 15 beautifully restored structures on our site preserve some of the special history of Oxnard’s early pioneer families. The homes have been re-purposed for business use, but you can still find a glimmer of what was, in historical Oxnard.

Hollywood Beach

A beautiful beach located in the south end of the peninsula that separates Channel Islands Harbor from the ocean. It is wide and about a mile long. Because of this huge sandy expanse. it is very popular among tourists and also there are so many beach leisure activities possible.

Hungry Valley

Hungry Valley

Outdoors- Other

1 Day Treks

Off-road Spots

Hungry Valley is a valley located along the northern border of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. it is an off-road vehicle recreation area administered by the California Department of Parks and Recreation. With over 130 mi of marked off-road trails across over 19,000 acres of protected land, Hungry Valley SVRA is the second largest vehicular recreation area in California.

Lake Casitas

Lake Casitas

Lake/ River/ Ponds

Lake Casitas is a reservoir in Ventura County, built by the United States Bureau of Reclamation. It has more than 400 campsites along the lake's north shore. The 2,500-acre lake is only 10 miles inland from Ventura and offers a wonderful spot for families to relax by the water. The lake is well known as one of the best bass fishing destinations in the state. Many campers like the quiet atmosphere around the lake.

Lake Piru

Lake Piru

Lake/ River/ Ponds

A beautiful reservoir located in Los Padres National Forest and Topatopa Mountains of Ventura County. The Lake Piru Recreation Area, along the western shore, has about 60 acres with various recreational facilities for camping, boating, fishing, and picnicking. There are 66 boat slips with a full-service marina.

Las Virgenes Canyon

Las Virgenes Canyon

Outdoors- Other

The Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve is a large open space nature preserve owned and operated by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy spanning nearly 3,000 acres. it is part of a critical ecological linkage and wildlife corridor between the Santa Monica Mountains and the ranges to the north. Hikers, runners, mountain bikers and equestrians enjoy miles of trails through rolling hills.

Libbey Park

A nice little park and playground in central Ojai. It offers quiet places for relaxation, a playground for the tots, tennis courts, a community bandstand and the renown Libbey Bowl, site of the Ojai Music Festival and many other events. The park operates eight dedicated outdoor hard surface tennis courts and is sectioned off in two areas.

Los Padres National Forest

Los Padres National Forest

Outdoors- Other

1 Day Treks

Forests

Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in southern and central California. The forest is approximately 1,950,000 acres in area, of which 1,762,400 acres or about 88% are public lands; the rest are privately owned inholdings.This is a very popular area for hiking, with 323 miles (520 km) of hiking trails and 11 campgrounds.

Los Robles Trail

Los Robles Trail

Outdoors- Other

1 Day Treks

Los Robles is a very long trail connecting Rancho Sierra Vista/ Satwiwa National Park in Newbury Park to Foothill Drive in Westlake Village.The trail spans several Open Space areas, listed at the top of this page. The Conejo Ridge Open Space is immediately north of the middle of the LRTE and forms an almost complete bowl. The trails here appear to be used mostly by equestrians who live nearby. There is awesome opportunities abound for hikers, bikers and equestrians to enjoy the open space.

Marina Park

Marina Park

Beaches

Parks

A majestic 15-acre beachfront park in Ventura, featuring a large open grassy area for kids to play, families to host a picnic, or to just sit and enjoy the California sunshine.This park has nearly an entire mile of oceanfront that’s directly adjacent to Ventura Harbor, with plenty of beachfront land and flat sand.

Matilija Dam

A concrete arch dam, built in 1947. Designed for water storage and flood control, , it impounds Matilija Creek to create the Matilija Reservoir in the Los Padres National Forest, south of the Matilija Wilderness and north of Ojai.

Mcgrath State Beach

McGrath State Beach is one of the best bird-watching areas in California, with the lush riverbanks of the Santa Clara River and sand dunes along the shore.A nature trail leads to the Santa Clara Estuary Natural Preserve. Camping sites are available. Two miles of beach provide surfing and fishing opportunities.

Mount Pinos

Mount Pinos

1 Day Treks

Mountain Peaks

This is a mountain located in the Los Padres National Forest on the boundary between Ventura and Kern counties in California. The summit, at 8,847 feet, is the highest point in Ventura County. The mountain is the highest point of the Transverse Ranges west of Tejon Pass, as well as the southernmost point of the Salinian Block.

Mullin Automotive Museum

Mullin Automotive Museum

Man-made Structures- Other

Museums

This is a privately owned museum in Oxnard, California. It displays the personal car collection of businessman and philanthropist Peter W. Mullin. The museum has a large collection of vintage Bugattis, and many of the cars are fully restored and able to be driven.

Museum of Ventura County

A majestic museum, which celebrates the history, art, and culture of Ventura County and the Channel Islands through its collections, exhibits, educational programs and publications.

Ojai Meadows Preserve

Ojai Meadows Preserve

Outdoors- Other

1 Day Treks

A beautiful reserve sprawled over 58-acres of lush wetlands and counts bobcats, rabbits, and over 40 bird species as residents. The project is actually a restoration led by a local conservation group, which runs environmental education programs and guided tours year-round. If you come on your own, there's an accessible trail that makes for a low-key, 30-minute hike.

Ojai Valley Inn

Ojai Valley Inn

Outdoors- Other

Ojai is a tourism destination known for its boutique hotels, recreation opportunities, hiking, and farmers' market of local organic agriculture. It has small businesses specializing in local and ecologically friendly art, design, and home improvement. Chain stores are prohibited by city ordinance to encourage local small business development and keep the town unique.

Ojai Valley Museum

The Ojai Valley Museum, located downtown in the historic Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church houses an extensive collection of art, Native American artifacts, and photographs of early Ojai.The museum also has in-depth temporary exhibits. It has a permanent exhibition about Ojai's history, a diorama of the Sespe Wilderness, and a Museum Store in the Sanctuary Gallery. Rotating & original art, history, and culture exhibits are mounted year round and change every 6 to 10 weeks.

Map of attractions in Ventura County

Comments

For more information about Ventura County, visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ventura_County,_California