Ventura County - 68 Attractions You Must Visit

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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

Olivas Adobe Historic Park

The Olivas Adobe in Ventura, California is an adobe structure built in 1837 by Raymundo Olivas on the north bank of the Santa Clara River about a mile from the estuary where it flows into the Santa Barbara Channel.He and his wife and their 21 children lived here until 1899. It later became Max Fleischmann's hunting lodge . After his death, his foundation donated the land and the house to the City of Ventura.

Oxnard State Beach Park

A public beach, playground, and picnic area at the edge of the Oxnard Plain. The park includes palm tree lined pathways and a bike/walking path connecting the communities of Oxnard Shores and Channel Islands Beach. There is also an easy bike/walking connection to Channel Islands Harbor. Oxnard Beach Park includes two barbecue areas with a capacity of 200 occupants, each with a public sink, table, and a large grill. Activities include beachcombing, walking, and ocean swimming.

Point Mugu State Park

Point Mugu State Park

Outdoors- Other

A beautiful state park located in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. It consists of distinct landside and beachside areas with different ecosystems and their own parking lots, separated by the Pacific Coast Highway. It comprises of oceanfront beaches, palisades, chaparral-covered mountains, two major canyons with seasonal rivers, grassy valleys highlighted with oaks, sycamores, and the occasional native walnuts trees.

Rancho Camulos Museum

Rancho Camulos Museum is a 40-acre NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK situated within an 1800 acre working ranch. It was the home of Ygnacio del Valle, a Californio alcalde of the Pueblo de Los Angeles in the 19th century and later elected member of the California State Assembly. The ranch was known as the Home of Ramona because it was widely believed to have been the setting of the popular 1884 novel Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson.

Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa

Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa is a culturally significant place. This land served as a successful community for not only the Chumash culture, but also the plants and animals that live here. Students will explore Chumash culture and their reliance on native plants and animals.

Rincon Beach

Rincon Beach

Beaches

Surfing Spots

A famous surf spot in California, known around the world for its well-formed waves and long rides. It is home to the Rincon Classic surf championship scheduled for January each year.

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

This is the repository of presidential records from the administration of Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, and the burial place of the president and first lady, Nancy Reagan. It is the largest of the 13 federally operated presidential libraries, containing millions of documents, photographs, films and tapes. There is a permanent exhibit covering Ronald Reagan's life, as well as memorabilia such as Air Force One, the aircraft personally used by the president.

San Buenaventura City Hall

This is one of the Venturas majestic historic building built in 1912-13, used as a courthouse until 1972. It was the first building in the City of Ventura to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has also received historic designations at the state, county and city levels. It is available for rental for your next gathering.Its public indoor and outdoor spaces—Atrium, Patio, Foyer and Community Meeting Room have beautiful floors, ceilings and walls of marble.

San Buenaventura Mission

San Buenaventura Mission

Outdoors- Other

Churches

This is a Spanish mission founded by the Franciscans in present-day Ventura. It was the ninth Spanish mission established in California.

San Buenaventura State Beach

A beautiful beach which is located in Ventura County of California. The beach consists of a 1700 foot pier that has a snack bar, restaurant, and a bait shop. People often come to this beach to surf, swim, and picnic.

Sandstone Peak

Sandstone Peak

1 Day Treks

Mountain Peaks

This Peak is the highest point in the Santa Monica Mountains at an elevation of 3,111 feet. Views from the trail stretch from the Pacific Ocean and Channel Islands and inland to the Conejo/Simi Valleys. The summit can be reached via a 6.25-mile loop with 1,075 feet of elevation gain that offers expansive views of the range. It is one of the iconic attraction in this area and attracts so many adveurte lovers.

Sandstone Peak Trailhead

Sandstone Peak Trailhead

1 Day Treks

Mountain Peaks

Sandstone Peak is the tallest point in the Santa Monica Mountains. The summit can be reached via a 6.25-mile loop with 1,075 feet of elevation gain that offers expansive views of the range. Just ahead on the trail, enters a riparian forest and crosses a stream to arrive at Split Rock Picnic Area. After hiking nearly two miles, this is a good spot for a break. The picnic area offers plenty of shade, which is otherwise elusive on this hike.

Santa Paula Art Museum

A majestic museum, with a mission to preserve and share Santa Paula, California’s artistic heritage including the famous Santa Paula Civic Art Collection; and to educate and engage the community through collection, exhibition, interpretation, programming and outreach. It plays host to rotating exhibitions of vintage and contemporary art, cultural events, a gift shop and more.

Sespe Creek

Sespe Creek

Lake/ River/ Ponds

Sespe Creek is a stream, some 61 miles long, in Ventura County, southern California. Thirty-one miles of Sespe Creek is designated as a National Wild and Scenic River and National Scenic Waterway, and is untouched by dams or concrete channels. It is one of the last wild rivers in Southern California. It is primarily within the southern Los Padres National Forest.

Sespe River Trail

Sespe River Trail

Lake/ River/ Ponds

1 Day Treks

Forests

A 9 mile round-trip hike along the Sespe Creek to a shaded riverside campground. The Trail starts at the end of a long, paved mountain road in clear sight of the impressive Piedra Blanca sandstone formation to the north. A National Recreation Trail splits north here and heads through the formation and into some deep canyons, but our trail followed the lowered but still flowing Sespe Creek into a nearly-shadeless chaparral brushland.

Sespe Wilderness

Sespe Wilderness

Outdoors- Other

This is a 219,700-acre wilderness area in the eastern Topatopa Mountains and southern Sierra Pelona Mountains, within the Los Padres National Forest, in Ventura County. There are hiking trails, perennial and seasonal creeks, waterfalls, hot springs, rock formations, and designated campsites in the wilderness area.

Stagecoach Inn Museum

Stagecoach Inn Museum

Iconic Buildings

Museums

Originally known as the Grand Union Hotel, was used as a resting area for people who traveled from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara. Besides a hotel and stagecoach stop, it has also been used as a post office, church, restaurant and military school. The museum includes a rebuilt Timber School, a carriage house and blacksmith shop, nature trails, and the "Tri-Village", a small group of three houses: the pioneer house, the adobe, and the Chumash "ap".

Strathearn Historical Park

This is an open air park that is owned and maintained by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District. It features changing exhibits about Simi Valley, and is the start for docent-led park tours. The interior of buildings can only be viewed during the docent-led tours. In addition to the Simi Adobe–Strathearn House, there are various historic buildings and structures that have been moved from their original site to the park, including the 1924 Montgomery children's playhouse.

Sycamore Cove Beach

Sycamore Cove Beach

Beaches

Outdoors- Other

This is a small, cute beach along the Pacific Coast Highway. It is a day-use area in Point Mugu State Park in southern Ventura County. The beach in Sycamore Cove is excellent, but the biggest draw to this spot is probably the adjacent campground with an extensive hiking trail network.

Tapo Canyon Regional Park

Tapo Canyon Regional Park is located in the midst of the rolling hills and canyons of the Santa Susana Mountains north of Simi Valley.Today, the park offers recreational activities as mountain biking, horseback-riding, hiking, as well as campgrounds, picnic areas, and sixteen RV camp hook ups. The elevation here goes up as far as 2300 feet, which offers great panoramic views along much of its hiking trails up on the hills.

Map of attractions in Ventura County

Comments

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