Ventura County Area Parks

There are hundreds of parks in Ventura County and surrounding areas. DOZENS of them are described in the Kid Fun section of CVG with pics and videos for you to check out!

But here is a compilation with links to all the various parks in the area.

Agoura Hills: www.agourahillscity.org/department/community-services-parks-recreation/parks-facilities/parks (6 parks)

Calabasas: www.cityofcalabasas.com/government/community-services-parks-recreation/parks-trails-and-facilities (8 parks)

Gates Canyon Park in Calabasas (Remodeled in 2024)

Camarillo: www.pvrpd.org/parks-list (28 active and passive use parks)

Malibu: www.malibucity.org/Facilities (6 parks)

Moorpark: www.moorparkca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/94 (18 parks)

Oak Park: rsrpd.org/parks/oak_park/parks/index.php (10 parks)

Ojai: www.ojairec.com/221/City-Parks (8 parks)

Oxnard: www.oxnard.gov/public-works/parks/find-a-park (36 parks)

Port Hueneme: www.ci.port-hueneme.ca.us/index.aspx?nid=553 (7 parks)

Santa Paula: spcity.org/300/Parks-Facilities (11 parks)

Simi Valley: rsrpd.org/parks/simi_valley/parks/index.php (37 parks)

Conejo Valley (Thousand Oaks/Newbury Park/Westlake Village) www.crpd.org/parks-reservations/parks (51 parks)

Thousand Oaks Community Park

Ventura: www.cityofventura.ca.gov/1952/City-Parks (24 parks)

County of Ventura Beach Front Parks: venturacounty.gov/parks-department/beach-front-parks (3 parks)

County of Ventura Inland Parks: venturacounty.gov/parks-department/inland-parks (13 parks)

Westlake Village: www.wlv.org/city_services/parks-rec.asp (8 parks)

Beaches Spanning From Carpinteria Through Ventura County to Malibu

My kids and I love going to the beach but for many years we seemed to go to the same ones all the time. So I stopped by the Automobile Club and asked them if they had a brochure on all the local area beaches open to the public. They shrugged their shoulders and said no such guidebook existed. They handed me a fold out map, which was of no use to me as I wanted to know exactly how to get to these beaches, if they have restrooms, parking, etc.

Then I started searching around for information and found bits and pieces in various locations that were marginally useful. So I decided to consolidate this information into one place where I could find out about where to go to the beach around Ventura County on up the coast to Carpinteria and Santa Barbara and down to Malibu. So I hope you find the following links helpful in finding local area beaches in Ventura County and surrounding areas!

Carpinteria to Ventura

Oxnard to Hueneme to Malibu

Santa Barbara Area Beaches

This took a lot of time to compile over 60 local area beach areas, so I truly hope you benefit from these lists! So enjoy and provide feedback if you have comments and/or additional information.

At Leo Carrillo State Beach in Malibu.

Windsurfers at Surfers' Point in Ventura.

Ventura Improv Company

Ventura Improv Company has brought made up on the spot laughs to Ventura County since 1989. 

In addition to monthly live improv on Friday at NAMBA Arts, VIC offers improv and acting workshops for all ages.

More information at www.venturaimprov.com.

Skateboarding Hall of Fame and Museum in Simi Valley

The Skateboarding Hall of Fame and Museum opened at the Simi Valley Town Center in December 2018. It is located directly across from the Vans store in the mall in a space of over 10,000 square feet.

The International Skateboarding Hall of Fame is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded by Todd Huber. It was created to honor the passion, dedication and contributions to skateboarding history and culture by skateboarders and cultural icons through the decades.

The museum displays hundreds of skateboards and other skating artifacts spanning decades. There is also an art gallery, gift shop, theater/library (over 600 skating videos as well as skating magazines) and skate shop.

Also on site is s skate park with a fun wall ride available to local youth. Cost is $15 (as of March 2024).

Admission to the museum is free. Donations to the non-profit are always welcome.

Visit www.skateboardinghalloffame.org for more information. Hours as of May 2025 are Wed-Fri 2-8pm, Sat 11am-8pm and Sun noon-5pm.

Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

Founded in 1916, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History makes for a great excursion to Santa Barbara with the kids.  There are eight exhibit halls with permanent exhibits featuring birds, mammals, insects, ocean life, a planetarium and more. Many of the exhibits are "hands on" with buttons and interactive features that kids particularly enjoy. There are an additional two halls for changing exhibits.

You and your kids can roam the nature paths and visit the well stocked gift shop, full of educational items. I can vouch for the fascination kids (and adults) have at this Museum. It is a very comfortable museum that in my experience is rarely is crowded. The "Museum Backyard" area and gardens has a picnic area, stream and other enjoyable features. The pond and stream often have tadpoles that captivate the kids.

The museum is open 7 days a week from 10am to 5pm and is closed certain holidays. As of May 2025, admission is $19 for adults, $17 for 65+ seniors and teens (13-17) and $14 for children 2 to 12 years of age. Become a Museum member and you don't have to pay for admission. Tax-deductible family memberships are currently start at $109 per year.

Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is located at 2559 Puesta del Sol Road, Santa Barbara. More information at www.sbnature.org or 805.682.4711.

McGrath Family Farm in Camarillo

McGrath Family Farm at 1012 West Ventura Blvd, Camarillo (take the Central Avenue offramp from the 101...McGrath is just south of the freeway) is a sustainable farm that grows organic fruits, vegetables and flowers for the local community.

The Farm Market is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10am to 4pm and Sunday 11am to 4pm.

We've been here numerous times over the years and I just love the fresh fruit and veggies available most of the year. You can find some nice locally grown gems here like heirloom tomatoes, strawberries, avocados and so much more.

Or pick your own for $10, plus the cost of the produce. Picking season generally starts around April 15th each year.

For more information, visit www.storeatmcgrath.com or call 805.983.0333.

McGrath Farm Tours (as of September 2012)

Feeding the animals at McGrath Family Farm.

Spring Canyon Trail Hike in Thousand Oaks

The Spring Canyon Trail is a short, fairly easy hike in the Newbury Park/Thousand Oaks section of the Los Robles Trail system that is great family fun.

Although a good portion of the Spring Canyon Trail is flat like this, there definitely are some moderately hilly sections.

This one mile trail runs east from the vicinity of Lynn Oaks Park, 359 Capitan Street, Newbury Park as well from the eastern terminus of Hemlock Lane, at Heavenly Valley Road in Newbury Park (in the Ventu Park community) to a juncture where you can either continue straight ahead for about a half a mile towards the Los Robles Trail access point at South Moorpark Road and Greenmeadow Avenue in Thousand Oaks or veer up "Space Mountain" on the right. (The views at the top of Space Mountain are awesome but this is a bit of a climb and is very popular with mountain bikers...probably not the best direction with little ones).

The path that takes you from Lynn Oaks Park to the Spring Canyon Trail.

Sign above Lynn Oaks Park that tells you that to the left is Los Robles Trail and to the right is the Hemlock Lane gate in Ventu Park.

Out and back you can make this a 2 to 3 mile moderate hike or more if you add in the Oak Creek Canyon Loop or Los Robles Nature Walk.

Sign at the east terminus of Spring Canyon Trail indicating Moorpark Road is half a mile away. Behind me is the trail toward "Space Mountain" and Los Robles Trail going east towards Newbury Park.

You can also park your car at the Moorpark Road/Greenmeadow trailhead and make your way west towards the Spring Canyon Trail and perhaps eat lunch or snack at Lynn Oaks Park (which by the way also has a nice playground area, basketball court and more...but no restroom however).

Bike Path in Oxnard at Oxnard Beach Park to Channel Islands Harbor

There's a bike path that starts at the ocean side of ‘ololkoy (formerly Oxnard) Beach Park at Mandalay Beach Road at Beach Way and takes you south all the way to Hollywood Beach and Channel Islands Harbor. Alternatively you can just park at the ‘ololkoy Beach Park and go from there. It is roughly 3/4 of a mile one way to Harbor Boulevard.

Cross Harbor Boulevard and make your way into Channel Islands Harbor, where you can ride all the way to the south end of the harbor.

Entrance to bike path at Mandalay Beach Road and Beach Way

There's a loop you can do around ‘ololkoy Beach Park

The bike path continues south and goes around the Embassy Suites Mandalay Beach Hotel

Soon after passing the hotel, the path swing east towards Harbor Boulevard

At Harbor Boulevard, you can cross over to Channel Islands Harbor or veer right (west) on West Channel Islands Boulevard towards Hollywood Beach. 

plenty of sand at Hollywood Beach. There's a restroom facility here. You can bike along Ocean Drive, which parallels the beach, to an entry point. do note that you are no longer on a bike path. you can continue south on Ocean Drive until its endpoint, where you turn left on South Harbor Boulevard past Channel View Park, where you will soon reach Channel Islands Harbor. 

On S. Harbor Boulevard going north now, you will be able to take a right (east) turn on Albacore Way to get to the nice pedestrian/bike path along Channel Islands Harbor. It will take you past the Channel Islands Maritime Museum and marina, where there are restaurants and other things to do.

Pretty cool place to ride bikes at the harbor...and rarely crowded in my experience.

If you and the kids are up to it and want a longer ride, after reaching the north side of the Harbor, you can take Harbor Boulevard back over to W. Channel Islands Boulevard over the bridge to the middle of the Harbor. There's a popular Toppers Pizza over there. Or go the east side of the Harbor. 

Other options of course include parking at the Channel Islands Harbor somewhere and cycling your way up to the Oxnard Beach Park. And you can also pedal your way over to S. Victoria Avenue and take the bike lane all the way down to Silverstrand Beach (or even park at Silverstrand and ride your way up from there...though do take not that this is not a bike path). Have fun!

The Lakes at Thousand Oaks

The Lakes at Thousand Oaks is a 7 1/2 acre, 48,000 square foot development next to the Bank of America Performing Arts Center Thousand Oaks where you can relax and enjoy park-like landscaping, two lakes, fountains, waterfalls and a children's play area, while grabbing a bite and do some shopping. The Lakes opened in 2005.

Restaurants include Fogo de Chao, California Pizza Kitchen and Sunlife Organics. Rounding out the offerings are a Lassen's Health Foods and Kalologie Skincare.

The Lakes at Thousand Oaks is really a beautiful, peaceful place, daytime and nighttime.

There is a kids club that meets every Wednesday morning from Spring through Fall.Younger ones enjoy it here because there is a lot of room to run around, run across the bridge, around the lake, etc.

We like the koi at The Lakes. They're cool to watch. But we don't feed them as cute as they are as they are obviously well fed!

The Lakes is located at 2200 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard.  Visit www.shoplakes.com or call 805.497.9861 for more information.

The Lakes Memory Lane: Former tenants at The Lakes include Claim Jumper (closed 2/23/14; now Lassen's), Nate 'n Al Deli (closed 1/4/12), Sushi Ko (2005 to August 2009 in Nate ‘n Al Deli space), Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (closed 7/18/11), Blizz Frozen Yogurt (closed early Spring 2011), Ben & Jerry's and 9021Pho (July 2016). Others: Tommy Bahama. Umami Burger closed 1/4/20, nearly eight years after opening on 5/3/12. Sabor Cocina Mexicana closed in March 2020. P. F. Chang’s closed in August 2022.

Color Café Pottery Painting Studio in Simi Valley

Color Café Pottery Painting Studio (previously As You Wish) is located at the Simi Valley Town Center. This is a large, nicely appointed ceramics/painting studio where you select a piece of pottery off the shelves, paint it and a few days later pick up your beautiful, glazed work of art.

Great place for birthday parties, team building, family nights, fundraising and more.

Visit color.cafe or call 805.520.9500 for more information. Open seven days a week.

Simi Valley Town Center

The Simi Valley Town Center is a 600,000 sq ft open-air shopping, dining and entertainment center in the heart of Simi Valley, off the 118 freeway between First Street and Erringer Road at 1555 Simi Town Center Way.  This mall opened in fall 2005. 

Eateries at the Town Center as of March 2025 include Corner Bakery, California Pizza Kitchen, Larsen's Steakhouse, Red Robin, Buffalo Wild Wings, Go Fish Sushi, Huarache Express, Baby Cakes Dessert Shop, Bree’s Cakes, Starbucks, Rambo’s Hot Chicken, Zozo Bakery, and Meera Coffee & Desserts

Macy's anchors the west end of the mall (the east end, also previously a Macy’s is still vacant after many years as of March 2025).

The 41,211 sq ft Studio Movie Grill opened at the Town Center on October 22, 2015, with nine screens and over 950 seats. It is a beautiful theater, offering stadium seating and fixed lounge seats with individual dining tables and service.

This is also a nice mall for the kids, as there is plenty of room to run around and explore in the open air setting.  There is a kids play area, oak trees, mosaic dragon, outdoor fireplace, koi pond and gardens to explore. 

Lots of shops geared towards the kids, including Black Belt USA Tae Kwon Do, Gotta Dance Academy, Inspire Dance Studio, Color Café Pottery Painting Studio, Kid Gloves Boxing, Rockin’ Kids Play Center, Maker Studio and the Skateboarding Hall of Fame Museum.

Other shops include the Five Below discount store that opened on October 12, 2018, Marshalls, Tilly’s, Lewis Galleries, ULTA Beauty, Brighton Collectibles, Vans, and more.

There’s also the Museum of Military History Posters and Memorabilia. Quite an impressive array of military posters and artifacts on hand.

Visit www.shopsimivalleytowncenter.com for more information.

Small outdoor kids' play area (geared towards little ones)

Previously at the Simi Valley Town Center:

A lot of businesses have come and gone from the Simi Valley Town Center in years past. Here are some of them.

Apple Store (9/15/17), Urban Home, Limon Latin Grill, Souplantation (9/25/16), Anthopologie, Brookstone, Chico’s, Coldwater Creek, Eddie Bauer, Forever 21, Gamestop, Haagen-Dazs, Gymboree Play & Music, Hot Dog on a Stick, Hot Topic, J. Stephens, Jos. A Bank, Lane Bryant, Lucky Brand Jeans, Nine West, The Body Shop, Things RememberedUrban Outfitters, White House Black Market, Z Gallerie, Zales and Zumies, among others.

The Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College

Don't want to drive 45 minutes to the nearest zoo?  Well then, stop by The Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College.*

This five acre zoo housing over 130 animals of more than 90 species is part of the college's Exotic Animal Training and Management Program and is open on weekends from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (excluding holidays).  This interesting collection has included all sorts of animals, like alligators, geckos, monkeys, tigers, camels, snakes, ocelots, Ira the Lion and more. Many of the animals are endangered or found a permanent home here or otherwise could not survive on their own.

Bengal tigers Neil and Karma live at Rajah’s Retreat at the zoo, which opened in the summer of 2024. This 8,000 sq ft area provides both outdoor and indoor space for its beautiful residents. Neil was rescued from an individual in Studio City in when it was five months old in December 2017. Neil was joined by Karma in early 2018 from a facility on the east coast.

Neil the Bengal Tiger

Animal show times at 12 pm and 2 pm. Animal demonstrations 3:30-4 p.m.

Galapagos Tortoise at America's Teaching Zoo

Students in the program are required to work most days and weekends.  For a truly unique wild animal experience, stop by and check it out. Don't expect anything fancy. This is a very low key place, but lots of fun as it is usually not very crowded and you can get really close to the animals. This huge Galapagos Tortoise is Clarence. Learn more about him here.

Admission (as of February 2025) $12 for adults and $10 for kids and seniors (checks and cash only). Age 2 and under is free.

Visit zoo.moorparkcollege.edu or call 805.378.1441 for more information.

Another handsome occupant of the zoo - “Ghost,” the bald eagle.

The Zoo is located at 7075 Campus Road in Moorpark.  Take the 101 North to the 23 North to the 118 East. Exit Collins and turn left at the stop sign.  Go through two stoplights and turn right into the 2nd entrance past the stoplights.  Turn right in the parking lot and continue up the short hill to the right.

*For years it was called America’s Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College but was re-branded to The Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College in the 2024 time frame.

Commemorative Air Force Aviation Museum at Camarillo Airport

Located at the Camarillo Airport at 455 Aviation Drive, the Southern California Wing of the Commemorative Air Force has hangars devoted to preserving, maintaining, displaying, and flying World War II aircraft.

The Commemorative Air Force Southern California Wing Aviation Museum is open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm and Sundays noon to 4pm.

Donations requested of $15 for adults, $10 for ages 10 to 18, $5 for ages 6 to 10 and active military. Kids under 6 are free (as of January 2025). Visit www.cafsocal.com or call 805.482.0064 for more information.

Also, take a vintage WWII airplane ride on the only remaining U.S. Navy/Marine Mitchell B-25 PBJ Bomber, the open cockpit Primary Trainer PT-19, the SNJ Texan and the Aircoupe. Details at www.cafsocal.com/warbird-ride-program.

Docents are enjoyable to speak with as they have a lot of history to share at this museum. Two 15,000 sq ft hangars and a 32,800 sq. ft. hangar complex serve as a Museum Hangar and a Maintenance and Restoration Hangar.

The Museum Hangar contains some of the many artifacts that are currently on display as well as a gift shop. It also houses any of the aircraft that are not away on a mission or undergoing maintenance.  For safety reasons the maintenance hangar is not available for a walk-through, however visitors can observe any work in progress from behind a safety perimeter.

There are a number of aircraft on display, including several you can physically inspect, which is always fun to do with the kids. There are some interesting WWII exhibits on hand too. 

The only authentic Marine BPJ-1J variant of the famed Mitchell B-25 Bomber. It flew into Camarillo from Midland, TX in 1993 for a 20 year restoration project. It is now flight-ready!

The Kakovlev Yak-3 is widely considered the lightest fighter aircraft between 1939 and 1945.