The Oceanview Pavilion located at 575 E. Surfside Drive in Port Hueneme (directly across from the beach) offers concerts, theater, fairs, shows and a variety of other events for all ages. The venue has a capacity for up to 1400 people and can be rented out for special events. Banquet hall can accommodate 450 guests. A full bar is available. For more information, visit www.oceanviewinfo.com or call the box office at 805.986.4818.
The Scarlett Belle is a modern riverboat located in the scenic Channel Islands Harbor. The boat can accommodate from 40 to 150 passengers and is a fun, luxurious venue for weddings, parties, corporate events, anniversaries and more...casino nights, graduation parties, public holiday cruises, etc.
For more information, visit www.scarlettbelle.com or call 805.204.0977.
Located at A&M Boat Charters & Cruises at the Marine Emporium Landing at Channel Islands Harbor, 3600 S. Harbor Blvd., #219, Oxnard.
Exit the 101 freeway at Victoria, proceed south on Victoria, at West Channel Islands Blvd, turn right. Go to the second stop light and turn left onto Harbor/ W. Channel Islands Blvd. Go to Cabezone Circle make a left. Into the Marine Emporium. Walk to the back of the three buildings facing the street to the dock where you will see the Scarlett Belle and Sunfish. Free parking.
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 P.F. Changs, 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. The Lakes hosts a very popular outdoor ice skating rink. 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.
Two Trees Escape Rooms is located at 2855 Johnson Drive Unit D in Ventura, near Sky Zone Trampoline Park. For those not familiar with escape rooms, they involve being locked in a room to solve a series o puzzles and riddles by gathering clues, hints and hidden objects. The goal is to solve the problem within 60 minutes.
Current room themes include Mystery at the Manor, The Runic Ritual, The 50s Diner and Davy Jones Locker,
Learn more at www.twotreesescaperoom.com.
Click the Bowling Ball for Bowling Alleys in Ventura County
Since 1968, Island Packers has provided reliable, enjoyable transportation between the Ventura/Oxnard Harbors and the Channel Islands National Park & Marine Sanctuary.
Island Packers has scheduled trips departing out of the Ventura and Oxnard Harbors and is the only exclusive boat concessionaire with authorization to transport guests to the Channel Islands National Park. Three 149-capacity catamarans and one 81-passenger mono hull vessel provide half and whole day trips year round to the Anacapa and Santa Cruz Islands, with trips to the Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa and San Miguel Islands from mid-April through the fall months.
On a personal note, we've been on Islands Packers boats a number of times and they are a class act. Great service and responsiveness.
Marine Wildlife Cruises (which do not land on the island) depart from the Harbor for 3 hour narrated cruises along the shores of Anacapa or Santa Cruz Island within the Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary. Highlights include sightings of sea lions, harbor seals and marine bird life, along with the opportunity to view whales and dolphins during the channel crossing. Island Packers also offers whale watching cruises - which, depending on the time of year, are a once in a lifetime opportunity to see some of the Pacific's most magnificent creatures. While pods of dolphins can be seen nearly year-round, whales are a far more seasonal bunch:
Late December-Mid April: Gray whales
April-September: Humpback and Minke whales
Summer & Fall: Giant Blue whales- not only the earth's largest mammal, but thought to be the largest known animal ever to have existed.
Whales aren't all these cruises have to offer, however. A trip to the Channel Islands can also mean sightings of rare birds! Though difficult, pelagic birding can be incredibly rewarding - but the real treasure trove is on the Islands themselves.
Santa Cruz Island is also home to the gem of the Channel Islands birding community - the Island Scrub-jay! The Island is the only place in the world this bird is found, and is highly sought after for avid bird enthusiast's 'life lists.'
For schedules, directions, tickets and more information, visit www.islandpackers.com, or call (805) 642-1393. Open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily.
Island Packers has two locations: Ventura Harbor, 1691 Spinnaker Drive, Suite 105B, Ventura and Channel Islands Harbor, 3600 S. Harbor Boulevard, Oxnard.
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 and is closed certain holidays. As of July 2019, admission is $15 for adults, $12 for 65+ seniors and teens (13-17) and $9 for children 2 to 12 years of age. Become a Museum member and you don't have to pay for admission. The Museum also offers birthday parties for members. Tax-deductible family memberships are currently $99/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.
The 60 acre Lake Piru Recreation Area is located on the western shore of Lake Piru, an artificial lake in the Los Padres National Forest. Lake Piru offers 238 tree-shaded campsites, coin-operated hot showers and a store. Each site has a picnic table, fire ring and grill top.
The dam is owned and operated by the United Water Conservation District of Santa Paula and a third party operates the campsite; visit campone.com/campsites/lake-piru for more information. Boat rentals and fishing available as well as a newer children's playground area. Make camping reservations by calling 805.521.1500.
We were just passing through The Oaks mall recently when we looked up and saw ImmotionVR on the first floor near Aveda. ImmotionVR offers up virtual reality experiences for $8 per ride (5-8 minutes), $25 for 30 minutes and $40 for 60 minutes.
VR experiences offered include Delta Zero, Jinx Thriller, Legend of Lusca Adventure and more.
Hours are 10am to 9pm Mon to Sat and 11am to 7pm Sun. immotionvr.com/us/
Hook's Landing Sportfishing is located in Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard at 3550 South Harbor Boulevard. Hook's has 2 boats. The Coroloma is a 3/4 day boat that leaves at 6am and returns at about 3pm. The New Hustler and takes you on overnight fishing trips. The Outrider is offered up for all day trips.
More information at www.hookslanding.net or call 805.382.6233.
Medieval Times is a family-friendly dinner attraction inspired by an 11th century feast and tournament. Guests are served a four-course banquet meal (without utensils, of course) and then cheer for one of six knights competing in the joust and other tests of skill.
You may feel like this is goofy and you're only going for the kids.....but try it out, it's actually a lot of fun and some great entertainment! The tickets aren't "cheap" but when you factor in both the dinner and the great entertainment, it is definitely worth it. We also upgraded our tickets to the VIP/Kings Feast section to get front row seating and it was great!
My 6 year old and I loved the food. Pretty basic but quite tasty menu included tomato bisque, foccacia bread, massive quantity of roasted chicken and ribs that were also quite good, potato, apple strudel and a drink. Really was good. And they do have vegetarian options too.
Gotta love this place. And both the animals and the actors did an amazing job! I captured some scenes from our 2012 visit below.
The Buena Park location is located at 7662 Beach Boulevard, about 60 miles from the Conejo Valley, a mile from Knotts Berry Farm and 5 miles from Disneyland. Visit www.medievaltimes.com for more information.
We are lucky to have one of only 9 Medieval Times locations in North America, with others located in Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, Myrtle Beach, Baltimore, Lyndhurst, NJ and Toronto, Canada.
Opened in 2011, the McCrea Ranch Visitor Center is the former family home and ranch of Western film actor Joel McCrea and his wife and family. McCrea Ranch is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Center provides a variety of interpretive, educational, and cultural programs for the community, while preserving the unique history of this property through the Conejo Recreation and Park District. At some point and as funds become available in the future, the Visitor Center will be open to the general public. Visit crpd.org/about_us/community_partners/mccrea_ranch_visitor_center.asp for upcoming events at McCrea Ranch or call 805.495.2163.
McCrea Ranch is located at 4500 N. Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks, near the bottom of the Norwegian Grade.
Arsenal Comics & Games opened its doors on September 23, 2014 and is located at 2333 Michael Drive, Newbury Park. The store serves Ventura County with comics, tabletop games, magic tournaments, Pokemon, video games and more.
I love this store because it provides such a unique array of vintage and new comics that are so fun to look at and, for many collect.
Boardgaming 1pm to close on Sundays. Friday night magic. And other fun weekly activities.
Visit arsenalcomicsandgames.com or call 805.499.6197 for more info. Open daily 11am to 8pm.
Conejo Valley Guide covers events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County and surrounding areas.
Conejo Valley Guide® covers thousands of events, activities and things to do throughout Ventura County, California and surrounding areas.
Conejo Valley Guide is a participant in certain affiliate programs. These affiliate advertising programs are designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to the respective websites. Some links on the site may be affiliate links. We get paid if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these links on our site. Learn more at paidforadvertising.com.
