There is a place for every person, and the past 24 years have only reinforced what Rebecca and I knew the moment we arrived here. West Ventura County is our place.  Though the location wasn’t the primary driver that brought us, we could quickly appreciate that we were now living in a vacation destination for many.  And what’s not to love.  A magical coastal setting, an ideal climate, cultural diversity, and for us, limitless places, and opportunities to get outside and move our bodies. 

I think I’m a natural explorer.  I don’t know if this makes me the rule or the exception, but whether it’s a move or a vacation, I’m anxious to check it out when I land in an unfamiliar place.  And if you’re the kind of person that can get excited researching an area before you travel – I can identify.  Not wanting to show my age, but research used to be limited to a book and a map.  Now, of course, we have the internet and a wealth of web resources available to help you plan your stay or even your move.   

Unfortunately, we are dealing with COVID, and that limits much of the usual and customary events and activities, restaurants, etc. that are a part of our locale.  But that makes it even more important to have some good local resources to refer to.  And though you may not come now, you can be well prepared for your future visit. 

Here are some local websites that will help you determine how you want to spend your time while you are here or even help you determine if this is a place you would consider your home. But before we go on, we want you to know that we can also be a resource.  Not just for real estate, but for lifestyle, insight, and information that comes with the experience of living and working here. 

Ventura County Website

This site is probably more important to people interested in living and working here in Ventura County. However, there is some visitor information under the live/work page on the site.  Basically, here you will find all the typical information that you would expect on a county website.  

Visit Ventura     Visit Oxnard     Visit Hueneme Beach

Here are three sites that represent an overview of our coastal cities.  While they do speak to both residents and visitors, they are primarily dedicated to leisure and recreational activities in each locale.  You will also find some additional useful links once inside. You can also find descriptions of these beautiful coastal cities by visiting the Ventura Coastal Cities dropdown Good to Know section of our web home.  If you are interested in seeing what’s currently for sale in these areas, just click the Home Search dropdown for up-to-date listings. 

Channel Islands Harbor              

There are two beautiful but distinctly different small boat harbors within 7 miles of each other along our coast.  The larger of the two is Channel Islands harbor.  Located in Oxnard, Channel Islands Harbor is the hub of Oxnard’s three residential beach communities.  The Channel Islands Harbor website is an excellent resource for all the events, activities, and vendors.  Channel Islands Harbor speaks more to small boat owners and is surrounded by residential communities, some of which even offer private boat docks. 

Ventura Harbor              

Ventura Harbor speaks much more to the commercial fishing industry than Channel Islands Harbor. In fact, it is one of the largest squid landings on the west coast.  But don’t be fooled. Ventura Harbor is very small boat and visitor-friendly and possesses as beautiful a mountain backdrop as any harbor along the California coast.  And, unlike the larger Channel Islands Harbor to the south, most Ventura Harbor leisure and recreational activities are much more centrally located in the beautiful Ventura Harbor Village Visit both of these websites for any up-to-date information on vendors, restaurants, or other events and activities.

Island Packers

We would certainly be remiss to speak to our local harbors without speaking to Channel Islands National Park, visible (on a clear day) off our coast.  The park is unique in many ways, but mostly in that you can only access it by water.  Many locals have small yachts capable of the channel crossing to get there, but most do not.  No worries, you can get there by using one of the local vendors.  While these vendors are plentiful, most are local fishing charters that you can find on the harbor websites.  But if you want a whale, dolphin, or any other wildlife watching experience, kayak, or even walk or camp on one of these islands, Island Packers is your best bet.  Not only will you have the experience, you will also get an educational experience from its experienced crew as well.   

Visit the Central Coast

When Rebecca & I first came to live along the Ventura County Coast, we were immediately taken with its natural beauty and exceptional climate.  What we hadn’t thought about was its accessibility to the magnificent Central Coast.  Ventura County is actually the beginning of this world-class coastal experience that lies along iconic Highway 1.  Our favorite landing spot happens to be Cambria, which though beautiful itself, is a great launch point for a magnificent day trip to the Big Sur. 

There are many more resources, and we can’t include them all here. But we hope that you would consider us a resource.  We regularly post local information in our Blog, and you can easily hit the subscribe button if you would like to stay in the know without the worry of being deluged by future phone calls, emails, and texts. 

We’ll look forward to hearing from you!