Casitas Water Adventure in Ventura

Casitas Water Adventure is a water park at the Lake Casitas Recreation Area that is open throughout the summer, generally from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend (mid-Sept for weekend sessions).

There are two distinct areas. For younger children, there is an aquatic play structure designed for all ages, with two water buckets and five slides - two for kids and three for teens and adults.

The new Aquatic mega play unit Structure completed in 2023

The 1,200 foot long Lazy River offers a cool water ride on inner tubes along a scenic waterway featuring waterfalls, fog filled bridges and jet sprays. The inner tubes are available on a first-come, first-served basis, but usually there are plenty of them on hand.

The 1,200 foot long lazy river at Casitas Water Adventure is my kids' favorite.

For the very youngest tots, a zero-depth pool sprays water from all angles, providing a safe, fun play area.

Shaded decks, lounge chairs, showers, restrooms and a snack bar are available, but food is not allowed inside the park (though you can bring bottled water). Certified lifeguards are on hand at all times and life jackets are available at no extra charge while supplies last. Locker rentals are available for a nominal fee.

Do take note that they don't heat the water here. It is a bit on the cold side for many, though on hot days this can be a good thing.

Lake Casitas Recreation Area is located at 11311 Santa Ana Road, Ventura. Take Highway 33 from Ventura towards Ojai, make a left turn on Santa Ana Blvd, then a right on Santa Ana Road 3 or 4 miles to the park entrance.

Weekend morning sessions 10:30 am to 2 pm and afternoon sessions 3 to 6:30 pm. Weekday hours are 11am to 6pm. The cost for the 2024 season is $20 per person on weekdays and $23 on weekends.

Visit www.casitaswater.org/casitas-water-adventure for details.

Parking inside Lake Casitas is $20 on weekends/holidays and $10 on weekdays. There is parking available on Santa Ana Road if you don't mind walking.

This is the “old” (Pre-2023) aquatic Play Structure (for historical purposes)

Starlight Dance Academy in Ojai

Located at 407b Bryant Circle in Ojai, Starlight Dance Academy provides dance classes to children and adults. Current classes include jazz, ballet, tap, Zumba and hip hop as well as Pilates, yoga and mommy and me sessions. Also a great place for children's birthday parties! For more information, visit www.ojaistarlightdance.com or call 805.646.3732.

Ojai Skateboard Park

The 12,500 sq ft Ojai Skateboard Park is located at 450 E. Ojai Avenue, next to Chaparral High School.  The facility is free and hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Visit www.ojairec.com/parks-and-facilities/city-parks/ojai-skate-park or call the Ojai Recreation Department at 805.646.5581 for more information. 

Interesting sculpture in front of Ojai Skate Park

Ojai Youth Entertainers Studio

Ojai Youth Entertainers Studio is a non-profit organization dedicated to challenge, inspire, educate and entertain children and families in the Ojai Valley through the experience of quality theatre, dance and music. Classes, camps, live performances and more are offered to all ages.

The studio is located at 907 El Centro Street, Ojai. Visit www.ojaiyes.org or call 805.646.4300 for more information.

Newbury Park Track Club and Other Ventura County Youth Track Clubs

The Newbury Park Track Club (NPTC) is a youth recreational sports program in track and field. Founded in 1968, the NPTC is the oldest continuously running youth sports organization in the Conejo Valley.

Registration takes place in December/January (for spring track season) and early summer (for fall cross country season) each year. Age groups range from 7 to 16 years. Teams are as follows:

• Gremlins: Ages 7-8

• Bantams: Ages 9-10

• Midgets: Ages 11-12

• Youth: Ages 13-14

• Intermediate: Ages 15-16

Each team is coached by at least one coach, with additional support from parents and specialty coaches as needed.  Athletes compete fairly and equally.  All athletes are eligible to compete an equal amount, and all have an equal chance to earn first place awards.

For more information, visit www.nptrackclub.org.

NPTC is a member of the Ventura County Youth Track Conference, a non-profit, tax-exempt California corporation.

Other clubs currently in the conference include: Camarillo Cosmos, Heritage Valley Blazers, Moorpark Striders, Ojai Roadrunners, Oxnard Stars, Thousand Oaks Flyers , Gold Coast Spartans and Ventura Tigres.

Ventura County Library System

The Ventura County Library System includes 12 community branch libraries and a museum library.

The system offers books, magazines, book and music CDs, eBooks, audio books, streamable music, DVDs and more. A list of locations in the system is below. Visit the library website at www.vencolibrary.org for an online catalog and more information.

Your library card also gives you access to newspapers, language instruction, auto repair, genealogy resources and career tools. All of that, and there’s even more: find early literacy resources, encyclopedias, test preparation and biography, literature, science, and history databases.

The VC Library's online eLibrary is available 24/7 at www.vencolibrary.org/elibrary. Here is a sampling of apps available in the eLibrary:

• Hoopla - streaming of movies, TV shows and albums

• For eBook downloads, they offer CloudLibrary (popular fiction/nonfiction eAudiobooks), BookFLIX (for beginning readers with read-aloud feature), EBSCOhost eBooks (adult nonfiction) and others.

To check out books at the libraries and obtain materials online, you'll need to obtain a library card at any of the libraries in the Ventura County Library system. The initial card is free.

Libraries in the system are as follows (additional details at www.vencolibrary.org/locations).

Avenue Library, 606 North Ventura Avenue, Ventura (805.643.6393)

Fillmore Library, 502 Second Street, Fillmore (805.524.3355)

E.P Foster Library, 651 East Main Street, Ventura (805.648.2716)

Hill Road Library, 1070 S. Hill Road, Ventura (805.677.7180)

Museum of Ventura County Historical Research Library (805.653.0323)

Meiners Oaks Library, 114 North Padre Juan, Ojai (805.646.4804)

Oak Park Library, 899 North Kanan Road, Oak Park (818.889.2239)

Oak View Library, 555 Mahoney Avenue, Oak View (805.649.1523)

Ojai Library, 111 East Ojai Avenue, Ojai (805.646.1639)

Piru Library, 3811 Center Street, Piru (805.521.1753)

Ray D. Prueter Library, 510 Park Avenue, Port Hueneme (805.486.5460)

Saticoy Library, 1292 Los Angeles Avenue, Ventura (805.671.5148)

Albert H. Soliz Library (El Rio), 2820 Jourdan Street, Oxnard (805.485.4515)

Although the VC Library System does not prefer this, you can check out books from one library in the system and return them to another one. 

The following libraries in Ventura County and nearby areas are run by municipalities and thus are not part of the Ventura County Library System. You can check out books at these other libraries but will need separate library cards at them.

• Simi Valley Library

• Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park Libraries

• Moorpark City Library

• Camarillo Public Library

• Agoura Hills Library and Westlake Village Library (members of the Los Angeles County Library System)

United States Youth Volleyball League

United States Youth Volleyball League has leagues in cities throughout Ventura County. USYVL is a youth nonprofit recreational volleyball league designed to help spread the excitement of volleyball to all boys and girls ages 7-15.

The 8-week league runs from September to November of each year in Agoura Hills, Oak Park, Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks as well as in Camarillo, Ventura, Oxnard, Moorpark and Simi Valley.

These are non-competitive leagues and no standings are kept. USYVL’s philosophy is “Every Child Plays” and they provide an instructional league where children learn to play in a safe, fun and supervised environment.

Visit www.usyvl.org or more specifically www.usyvl.org/locations/california for local area leagues.

Ojai Valley Girls Softball Association

Founded in 1994, Ojai Valley Girls Softball Association (OVGSA) is a volunteer run nonprofit organization dedicated to providing athletic, team building experiences for the girls of the Ojai Valley. Leagues for girls ranging from 4 and under (U4) to 14 and under. Spring season starts in February. Visit www.ovgsa.org to learn more.