Moorpark’s historic High Street Arts Center at 45 E. High Street is a jewel of a theater located in old town Moorpark. Owned by the city of Moorpark since 2005, the theater provides high quality theatrical performances. For more information, visit highstreetartscenter.com or call 805.529.8700.
The Moorpark College Art Gallery is located in the Moorpark College Administration Building at 7075 Campus Road, Moorpark. The gallery is open Monday to Thursday from 8am to 6pm and Friday from 8am to noon.
Get there as follows: Take Collins Drive exit from the 118 north towards Moorpark College. Turn right at Campus Park Drive and park in Lot A. Parking is $2 (pay at machine). The Administration Building is located next to the President's Office.
Learn more about exhibit on display at the gallery at www.moorparkcollege.edu/departments/academic/art-department/art-gallery.
The Alley in Moorpark is an outdoor hangout destination with a beer and wine garden area featuring Enegren Brewery and Lucas Sellers Winery, The Craft House, California Coffee Republic and Fire and Vice. Live music is often featured on weekends. The address is 330-444 Zachary Street.
The Alley is a family friendly space, including furry family members.
The Craft House consists of a craft bar, instructor-led workshops and a variety of local and handmade good for sale. Note that The Craft House is for 21+ only because it also has a beer and wine bar.
California Coffee Republic features fresh small batch roasted coffee daily and packaged coffee in craft bags that can be delivered to local customers. www.californiacoffeerepublic.com
Fire and Vice offers pizzas, pretzels, cheese curds and more.
Learn more about The Alley at thealleymoorpark.com.
Don't want to drive 45 minutes to the nearest zoo? Well then, stop by local Moorpark College to visit the student-run America's Teaching Zoo.
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 each weekend from 11 a.m. to 5 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.
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 July 2021) $9 for adults and $7 for kids and seniors (checks and cash only). Under age 2 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 2 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.
A zoo volunteer feeding the lion.
For a great time and for fresh produce, visit Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark. My family loves the annual Fall Harvest Festival in October. There are rides and activities for the kids, music and entertainment, tractor rides, special events, tasty food, farm animals galore and lots and lots of pumpkins, squash, gourds and other Fall goodies.
This is also a great place for kids' birthday parties. There are animal shows, tractor rides, pony rides, mini train ride, play area, hay stack, animal feeding and other really fun activities for the kids. We love feeding carrots to the goats, donkeys, alpacas, emus and horses. Feeding the chickens, birds, rabbits and other animals is also great fun.
There are other great events at Underwood. From the day after Thanksgiving to a week before Christmas the farm is festively decorated and there are cool tractor rides with Santa and other goings on. There's also usually a large Easter event geared towards the kids each year. The Moorpark location is generally closed from late December through February during the winter season.
Underwood Family Farm is located at 3370 Sunset Valley Road, Moorpark (805.529.3690).
Hours are: 9:00 am - 6:00 pm (daylight savings time), 9:00 am - 6:00 pm, weather and farm conditions permitting. Admission is $6.00 per person Monday-Friday and $9.00 per person weekends and major holidays. Children under 2 are free. Visit www.underwoodfamilyfarms.com for more information.
Underwood also has a location at 5696 Los Angeles Avenue, Somis (805.386.4660), which includes a farm market, animal center and pick your own berries. The farm center in Somis is open every day, year round. Animals on hand at the Somis location include sheep, alpacas, chickens and pygmy goats. Stop by and picnic with them! There is no admission charge at this much smaller location.
Alpacas at the Somis Animal Center
Happy Camp Canyon Regional Park in Moorpark is a 3,000 acre wilderness area with 12 1/2 miles of trails maintained by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. I've hiked back here from time to time and rarely see anyone in these quiet canyons!
There are a couple entry points to Happy Camp Canyon. The one shown above is adjacent to Rustic Canyon Golf Course, 15100 Happy Camp Canyon Road, Moorpark. The other main entry point shown below is at 14105 Broadway Avenue, Moorpark. Park here and hike to the canyon entrance point.
If you're looking for relatively flat trails well suited for comfortable hiking, mountain biking and horse riding, Happy Camp Canyon is a good choice.
You can take the main Happy Camp Canyon Fire Road for quite a ways and either head back the way you came or take the more strenuous Middle Range Fire Road back and catch some great views. I veered north up a steep maintenance road to some power lines shown below.
Or try the 8 mile, strenuous, South Ridge Loop (via the Middle Ridge Fire Road). Begin at the canyon gate; about 100 yards beyond, turn right and follow a dirt road up to the ridge top. Continue east along the Big Mountain Ridge to a junction, enjoying views on your right of Moorpark, Simi Valley, the Santa Monica Mountains, and all the way to the Channel Islands. At the junction, turn north and drop down into Happy Camp Canyon. When you reach an old corral (and picnic area), turn west and walk back to the entrance gate on Happy Camp Canyon Fire Road (in the canyon bottom), approximately four miles.
There is no cost for parking here. For more information, visit mrca.ca.gov/parks/park-listing/happy-camp-canyon-regional-park.
NOTE: Because of sensitive habitat, dogs are not allowed past the entrance gate.
It greens (and purples) up quite nicely after the winter rains in Happy Camp. March/April/May are the months to check it out.
Check THIS LIST of links to senior centers and recreation programs around Ventura County.
Click the image below for a link to paintball venues in the Ventura County area!
Michaels Stores is North America’s largest specialty retailer of arts, crafts, framing, floral, wall décor, and seasonal merchandise for the hobbyist and do-it-yourself home decorator. Michaels is one of the funnest stores to visit for arts, crafts, framing, floral, home décor, scrapbooking and much more.
Local area Michaels Stores are in Westlake Village at 5780 Lindero Canyon Road (818.707.0013), Camarillo at 351 Carmen Drive (805.388.5001) and Moorpark at 816 New Los Angeles Avenue (805.552.9140).
In addition to offering up tens of thousands of items for your arts and crafts needs, Michaels offers classes at very low prices! Classes cover a wide range of fun activities, including cake decorating, art painting, jewelry making, paper crafting, knit and crochet, kids' programs and more.
Check out Camarillo classes at classes.michaels.com/OnlineClasses/control/dateView?storeId=9525
Westlake Village classes at classes.michaels.com/OnlineClasses/control/dateView?storeId=9822
Moorpark classes at classes.michaels.com/OnlineClasses/control/dateView?storeId=3848
For more information, visit www.michaels.com.
The Arroyo Vista Recreation Center, located at 4550 Tierra Rejada Road in Moorpark, offers a variety of recreational programs for all ages. Activities include sports, library programs, seniors programs, community events, teen events, camps and more. The facility can also be rented for private parties.
Visit www.moorparkca.gov/199/Recreation or call 805.517.6300 for a quarterly program brochure or more information. Or download the recreation guide at www.moorparkca.gov/214/Recreation-Classes.
Conejo Valley Guide covers events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County and surrounding areas.
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