All Stories from Ventura County

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  River, Meet Ocean

  The city of Ventura is officially known as Buenaventura, meaning “good fortune.” That applies to one of the least-known but most abundant estuaries in the region, where the Ventura

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  Ojai’s Wet Side

  Just a few miles west of the serene, artsy community of Ojai is the very different world of Lake Casitas—fabled among bass fishers, and delightful for anyone who enjoys playing on

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  Island Traverse

  As the largest of the Channel Islands, Santa Cruz also has bragging rights to two mountain ranges. For a grand (and grandly scenic) tour, lace up the boots and go on a 15-mile (one-way) backpacking trek that traverses the eastern side of the island.

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  Pretty View Campground

  Chula vista means “pretty view,” and whoever named Chula Vista Campground in the Los Padres National Forest was right on the mark. The views extend all around and even upward to th

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  Big Sycamore Canyon

  After a five-year drought, winter rains have reawakened a waterfall hidden deep within Big Sycamore Canyon and turned it into a spring fantasy. See for yourself on a 4.7-mile loop

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  La Jolla Canyon

  Hiking La Jolla Canyon in Point Mugu State Park after winter rains is like entering a lost world. That usually bone-dry creek bed? It’s a flowing river. Those brown hillsides? They

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  El Lobo

  Embark on a 13-mile hike that takes you across part of Santa Rosa Island’s interior, down a canyon, and along a spectacular coastline of cliffs, coves, and tide pools.

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  This Skunk Doesn't Stink

  On Santa Rosa Island, an all-day hiking expedition to Skunk Point unfolds like chapters of a geographic fairy tale. You’ll cross several distinct terrains on a 11-mile lollipop loo

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  The Comeback Pine

  The Torrey pine is now the rarest pine in the United States. On Santa Rosa Island, you can visit one of its last seaside groves—with some trees dating back 250 years—on a 4.5-mile

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  Ocean's Edge

  Tightly wedged beside the 101 Freeway and downtown Ventura, and divided by the Southern Pacific Railroad, Emma Wood State Beach is mostly known for RV camping. Meh. But wait … beyo

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  Caves, Waves, and a Greenroom

  Etched into volcanic rock awhirl with swooping brown pelicans, sea caves make for dramatic echo chambers, hissing with foam and swelling with ocean waves. And you, in the thick of

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  Jetty for La Jenelle

  The La Jenelle was a 467-foot luxury cruise liner before retiring to Port Hueneme Harbor with plans to become a floating restaurant. Then a severe storm ripped her from her mooring

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  Ojai and Mighty

  Blazed just over five years ago, Kennedy Ridge Trail climbs into a chaparral region above Ojai Valley once accessible only to wild creatures and the most daring bushwackers. Visit

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  Channel Island Smuggler

  One of the best hikes in Channel Islands National Park traverses Santa Cruz Island, offering panoramic vistas and leading to a secluded cove. The 7.5-mile (round-trip) hike to Smug

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  Cave In!

  The Cave of Munits is an awe-inspiring cavern of impressive heights. And it's located just outside suburbia. Starting at El Escorpión Park will get you there quickly, but the cave

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  Who's Your Caddy?

  Love _Caddyshack? _Channel Bill Murray's character, Carl Spackler, by doing the next best thing to golfing. Go frolfing! Also known as disc golf, the game has gained popularity ove

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  Hike and Peak

  Reaching a stunning peak vista in under a mile? If it sounds too good to be true, you haven't been to Camarillo Grove Park. The 1-mile (round-trip) Upper Loop Trail in this unassum

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  Seventh Heaven Hiking

  A whopping 15,000 acres of open space have been preserved in the Conejo Valley—that’s almost a third of the total size of Thousand Oaks! Wildwood Park comprises the largest contigu

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  Drama-free at Sea

  For an adventure at sea without the drama of thrashing ocean waves, go kayaking in Oxnard's serene Channel Islands Harbor. The calm waters (shielded by the breakwater at the harbor

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  Up a Creek

  Want to go on a camping trip minus the cars and RVs? The three first-come, first-served campgrounds along the Upper North Fork Matilija Creek Trail in Los Padres National Forest ca

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