Royal Treat

Green, orange and black are the relevant colors at Camino Real Park in midtown Ventura. The green is obvious. It’s a park, and a big one at that--38.21 acres of grass, playing fields, tennis and basketball courts and lots of healthy trees, including pines, jacarandas, sycamores and eucalyptus.

Orange and black are the colors of Danaus plexippus, the monarch butterfly.

These large, colorful migrating insects are known to congregate at the park in large numbers, flitting about the eucalyptus trees in the nearby Arundell Barranca, which forms the northern boundary of the triangular park.

Although not nearly as numerous as in other years, there are even now a number of monarchs at the park.

Some species will do anything to get out of the northwest winters, even fly 1,800 miles to vacation in sunny Southern California.

With a life span of just a few months, the butterflies spend most of their time seeking their favorite food, the milkweed.

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This plant (toxic to others) has a bitter taste to predators, leaving the monarchs pretty much enemy-free and thus able to enthrall visitors to the local park.

“Maybe just in the last 10 years have we become fully aware of the butterflies,” said Mike Montoya, parks manager for the city of Ventura. “They’re a very important species.”

Originally lemon orchards in what was then the east end of Ventura, Camino Real Park was first mentioned in a 1958 Recreation Commission report.

In 1970 the city received a HUD grant of $178,000 to buy some of the land, and in 1971 paid the state almost $378,000 to acquire most of the property.

Groundbreaking took place in November 1973, and Phase One construction was completed a year later. Camino Real Park, which opened 25 years ago, was the first city recreational facility built since West Park opened in 1950.

No longer east end, Camino Real Park now sits in midtown Ventura. It didn’t move, but the boundaries of the city did.

Today, Camino Real is the Poinsettia City’s primary sports-oriented complex. There are eight tennis courts (lighted), two softball fields (lighted), a regulation baseball diamond, two youth baseball fields, basketball and volleyball courts and three children’s play areas.

There’s also a track for runners, joggers, in-line skaters or just strollers.

The snack bars are operated by the various baseball leagues, and thus are open accordingly.

There are plenty of picnic tables, barbecue areas and wedding sites open to the public. The bathrooms are as clean as any you’ll find in a public facility.

And winter is a good time to use this facility.

On weekdays or in the mornings or evenings, the park is not too crowded. Moms push strollers, joggers jog, walkers walk and everyone seems to be going at about half the pace of the shoppers at the nearby Pacific View Mall.

A pair of recent visitors to the park, where the monarchs outnumbered the bipeds, were Bill and Kate Faulkner of midtown Ventura, out for a morning of roller-blading.

“We have roller blades, and there’s nice and smooth cement here and you can go around this whole thing,” said Bill Faulkner, donning his skates. “This is one of the nicest places, especially in the morning like right now. It looks like we have the whole place to ourselves. It’s smooth and just perfect.”

According to his wife, the relaxing winter environment of monarchs and gently blowing sycamore leaves is very different from the taxing summer.

“We’ve come here before to see the butterflies,” she said. “They don’t take up too much room. This place in the summer is just a zoo.”

Want to hang out in the park? Just do it.

For activities involving larger numbers of people, reservations are encouraged, and the further ahead of time the better, according to the parks chief.

“This is our most heavily scheduled facility in Ventura,” Montoya said. “We hardly have time to mow the grass.”

DETAILS

Camino Real Park, Dean and Varsity drives, Ventura, open daily 7 a.m. to dusk, tennis courts until 10:30 p.m. 652-4594.

Bill Locey can be reached by e-mail at blocey@pacbell.net.