Zev Yaroslavsky Las Virgenes Highlands Park in Calabasas

The Zev Yaroslavsky Las Virgenes Highlands Park is located on Las Virgenes Road, just south of Mureau Road and north of Highway 101 in Calabasas. Acquired in 2010, this area includes nearly 200 acres of open space providing a gateway to the Santa Monica Mountains and a welcome site to drivers navigating bottom of the Calabasas Grade on Highway 101.  Stop by sometime and take a hike up the moderately steep path through grasslands and oak trees to catch panoramic views of the surrounding areas. Learn more at THIS LINK.

Conejo Recreation & Park District - Thousand Oaks

The Conejo Recreation and Park Districthas served the Conejo Valley since 1963 and covers 66 square miles with a population of over 140,000 people in Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park and the Ventura County portion of Westlake Village. 

The Recreation Division conducts over 3,000 organized recreation and leisure programs each year.  The Parks Division maintains over 50 parks, over 1,000 acres with a variety of recreation amenities, including tot-lots, lighted sports fields, picnic areas, and community centers.  Additionally, the Parks and Planning Division, through the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA), maintains approximately 15,000 acres of open space and a 140-mile multi-use trail system including a disabled accessible trail segment on Oak Creek Canyon.

CRPD releases its Recreation Program Guide four times a year (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) and has hundreds if not thousands of activities for adults, seniors, kids and teens.

Visit the CRPD website at www.crpd.org or call 805.495.6471 for more information or to access community class schedules, park listings, facilities, sports and other information about local Conejo Valley events and activities. 

Conejo Recreation and Park District is located at 403 W. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks. 

Lake Shrine Meditation Gardens in Pacific Palisades

The Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine was dedicated by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1950. This is a 10 acre spiritual sanctuary located at 17190 Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades, about 25 miles from the Conejo Valley.

The beautiful site hosts a natural spring-fed lake along with gardens, swans, ducks, koi and trees and flowers from around the world.

The grounds include a Court of Religions honoring the five principal religions of the world, the Mahatma Gandhi World Peace Memorial where a portion of Gandhi's ashes is enshrined, a museum with exhibits on Paramahansa Yogananda's work, and a gift shop with arts and crafts from India.

The temple itself is on a hilltop overlooking the lake. A beautiful and peaceful place indeed.

The Gardens and Lake are open Tuesday - Saturday: 9:00 am to 4:30 pm and Sunday: 12:00 noon to 4:30 pm (closed on Monday)

The Visitors' Center is open Tuesday - Saturday: 9:00 am to 4:30 pm and Sunday: 12:00 noon to 4:30 pm

Learn more at www.lakeshrine.org.

Ray Miller Trail at La Jolla Canyon at Point Mugu State Park

Click the image below for information about the Ray Miller Trail.

California Dance Theatre / Pacific Festival Ballet

California Dance Theatre (CDT) of Agoura Hills was founded in 1985. With five studios spanning over 10,000 square feet, and over 30 teachers on staff, CDT instructs students of all ages and levels — from children to adults, beginners to professionals — in ballet, lyrical, contemporary, modern, tap, musical theatre, jazz, acro and hip-hop. 

CDT's Pacific Festival Ballet is the resident ballet company of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Bank of America Performing Arts Plaza.

California Dance Theater / Pacific Festival Ballet is located at 5863 Kanan Road, Agoura Hills.  More information and tickets available at www.californiadancetheatre.com.

Pinot's Palette - Westlake Village (CLOSED)

CLOSED PERMANENTLY IN LATE AUGUST 2017

Pinot's Palette - Westlake Village is located at 2879 Agoura Road (at Village Glen). It opened in May 2015. Sign up and enjoy an evening of fun, friends and fine art. Pinot's Palette supplies the canvas, paint, brushes and instruction along with a bar stocked with beer and wine for purchase.

Local artists  will guide you step-by-step through a featured painting. At the end of the night...leave with your own masterpiece!

Learn more at www.pinotspalette.com/westlakevillage or call 805.379.9963.

The Painted Cabernet in Oxnard

The Painted Cabernet at The Collection at RiverPark in Oxnard offers guests an opportunity to show off their artistic side under the watchful eyes of a trained instructor, while having a glass of wine in the process, offering an upscale urban studio, in a friendly, hip and creative environment for an evening on the town, a bachelorette party, a bit of “me” time or an out-of-the-ordinary date night.

The classes are a stress-free group setting where an artist instructor will guide you step-by-step replicating the featured painting, while giving you the time to sip a little wine, visit with your neighbor, listen to some great music and have a fun night out. Guests will be sure to go home with a painting that is uniquely their own.

Painted Cabernet also is available for private events, perfect for bridal showers, birthday parties, baby showers, corporate events, church groups and more.

An online calendar is up at paintedcabernet.com and reservations can be made by calling 805-963-9979.

Paintball Places in Ventura County

Click the image below for a link to paintball venues in the Ventura County area!

Dozens and Dozens of Kid-Friendly Parks in Ventura County and Surrounding Areas

There's a method to the madness. You'll find some parks listed here in the Do Something section of CVG, but dozens more are profiled in the Kid Fun section. But those parks are also great for non-kids, so click the picture below to see that list. Most of the listings include photos and/or video to help you scope thing out.

Conejo Mountain Edison Road Trail in Newbury Park

The Conejo Mountain Edison Road Trail (also referred to as the Powerline Trail) in Newbury Park runs adjacent to the Dos Vientos community (trailhead on Via Ricardo gets you to it) and takes you up about 1,000 feet in a few miles of hiking/running.

You'll be treated to beautiful views of the entire valley stretching towards Boney Mountain in the distance, then off towards Camarillo and the Oxnard Plain. In the video below, I ran to the top of the mountain; you can also run down the other side, all the way down to Old Conejo Road...but there's a locked gate there. However, the Ventura County Trails website provides some alternative routes that may come in handy at www.venturacountytrails.org/TrailMaps/DosVientos/AreaTrails.htm

That said, you don't have to go very far on this trail for great views of the Oxnard Plain.

The Powerline Trail trailhead is on Via Ricardo in Newbury Park, just west of Via Pisa. You can extend the hike by half a mile (each way) by parking at Dos Vientos Community Park and taking the Park View Trail to Via Ricardo, where you will cross the street (there's a crosswalk) to the Powerline/Edison Trail.

The Conejo Open Space Foundation has a simple map of the trail and additional comments at www.cosf.org/website/html/conejo-mountain.html

This shot was taken in late January 2015, when it was actually green up there!

Serrano Canyon Hike in Pt Mugu State Park

Serrano Canyon is quite an attractive destination in Point Mugu State Park in the Santa Monica Mountains.  It is quickest to get to Serrano Canyon from Malibu but trekkers, runners and cyclists certainly can make their way from the Newbury Park side at Satwiwa/Rancho Sierra Vista.

To get down to Serrano Canyon from the Conejo Valley side, you must meander your way down the steep Sycamore Canyon Fire Road seen above. Have fun and don't think about the challenge of making your way back up this hill later in the day, when the sun is beating down on you!

Continue on down Sycamore Canyon Road, pass through the Danielson Multi-Use area, the National Park Service house and the old barn-like structure seen above. You can actually get to Serrano via the Blue Canyon Trail entrance point just east of the Danielson Multi-Use area.

You might catch a deer or two, or three eating breakfast near the trail.

Onward down Sycamore Canyon, one is this porta-a-john, situated in a serene setting next to several picnic benches under a beautiful tree on the right.

Sign signaling the transition into Serrano Valley

A little farther down is the Serrano Canyon Trail trailhead. Two or three miles into this trail and you'll be in Serrano Canyon. Warning...this trail has had some fairly well overgrown sections in my times in there, so definitely be aware and consider long pants. I ran through there and survived in shorts but the poison oak on the sides of the trail were nervewracking enough to make me consider turning back.

There are several pieces of old farm equipment in the canyon. Makes you wonder about the history...There are several ways out of Serrano Canyon but my choice was to follow a trail that loops back around to Sycamore Canyon again, about a mile or so north of the entry point and south of the Danielson Multi-Use area. 

Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles

The Griffith Observatory opened to the public in 1935 and is a Los Angeles icon. After 67 years of operation, it was closed for renovation in 2002 and reopened in Fall 2006. The original art deco 27,000 sq ft building built during the Great Depression was expanded by an additional 40,000 sq ft of public space. 

The Observatory is located on the southern slope of Mount Hollywood, 1,134 feet above sea level, with expansive views of the surrounding city, mountains and Hollywood sign. Other than the spectacular views outside, the inside of the Observatory features the 300 seat Samuel Oschlin Planetarium, 200 seat Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon, public telescopes, dozens of exhibits and a cafe/gift shop.

Parking and entrance into the Observatory are FREE! Even if you're not into astronomy, you'll love the scenic views up there. It is located at 2800 East Observatory Road, Los Angeles. More information at www.griffithobservatory.org or call 213.473.0800.

The Observatory is owned and staffed by the City of Los Angeles Dept of Recreation and Parks. As of May 2015, hours are noon to 10pm Tuesday to Friday and 10am to 10pm Saturday/Sunday. Closed Mondays. Free public telescopes are available each evening the Observatory is open and skies are clear.

Patriot Airsoft in Newbury Park (Closed)

Patriot Airsoft was a 12,000 sq ft indoor airsoft field located at 1260 Rancho Conejo Blvd, #1 in Newbury Park. IT CLOSED IN EARLY 2016

Visit www.patriotcqb.com or "like" Patriot's Facebook page.

Airsoft involves shooting round, plastic BBs from replica firearms. Games last from 6-15 minutes each and people can join at any time during the day.  There are referees on the field who orchestrate the games and ensure all players' safety.

Players are welcome to come in and learn about the sport, take a tour, listen to a safety briefing and then begin playing!  Anyone under the age of 18 is required to wear a full fask mask, which can be brought or rented there.  Players can bring their own guns, that will be chronographed to determine that they are within the 350 fps (feet per second) limit of our indoor field.