10 things to do, see and eat right now in SoCal’s most underrated beach town
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If Oxnard to you is just a freeway sign on the way to Santa Barbara or Ojai, you’re missing out on a few things. Like an extensive harbor with none of the traffic or showy affluence of its southern cousins. Miles and miles of white sand where you won’t find another family right next to you as soon as you lay down a towel. A diverse, chilled city with an energetic subculture (Nardcore, anyone?) and some pretty decent tacos.
There are a bunch of ways to spend your time here. Take an architecture tour around Heritage Square, perhaps, or taste your way around September’s Chowderfest at the Maritime Museum. On the water, you can paddleboard ‘til you drop, commune with whales on a boat excursion or skip off to the Channel Islands on a whim.
It’s the only California Cultural District in Ventura County, an honor bestowed by the California Arts Council, which says that “from Guelaguetza and Fiestas Patrias to Juneteenth celebrations, Nardcore punk shows, lowrider cruises, fandangos, and Ballet Folklorico, the district’s cultural life is exuberant and deeply rooted in community.” Rapper/producer and Oxnard native Anderson .Paak named his third album after the city and has hosted the .Paak House music festival in the region.
And Oxnard is a summer home to Netflix darlings the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. For two decades, the Cowboys have held their training camp in the city, and this time around, the cheerleaders will join the scene for Oxnard Fan Night on July 31, the opening ceremony Aug. 1 and to a dance clinic Aug. 2.
Oxnard may not be overly polished, which of course adds to its charm. To get to know the community, you’ll have to veer a few miles off the 101 — but the detour makes for a vibrant SoCal weekend.
Discover how custom drums are made at DW Drums’ showroom
Oxnard Music
(Blake Fagan / For The Times)
DW Drums is a secret delight just across from one of those dystopian Amazon warehouses off the freeway and an essential pilgrimage for those who paradiddle. Tours are only offered by appointment at 2 p.m. on Thursdays, but it’s worth finding the time. It begins in a lobby full of kick drum pedals and ends in a room housing an enormous gold-plated kit belonging to Rush’s Neil Peart and a large portion of Zappa drummer Terry Bozio’s ridiculously expansive setup.
In between there are bottomless ways for drummers to geek out. Friendly staff will demonstrate how they cut and shape the wood before complex drilling machines make all the right holes, artists in spray booths add the lacquer, and other teams add the skins and hardware and fine tune the drums. It’s a convivial place where computers and artisans work in friendly harmony. There are steampunk drums and Ferrari drums and skull-clad drums. Dave Grohl peers down from a poster, of course.
In between there are bottomless ways for drummers to geek out. Friendly staff will demonstrate how they cut and shape the wood before complex drilling machines make all the right holes, artists in spray booths add the lacquer, and other teams add the skins and hardware and fine tune the drums. It’s a convivial place where computers and artisans work in friendly harmony. There are steampunk drums and Ferrari drums and skull-clad drums. Dave Grohl peers down from a poster, of course.
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Grab a quesabirria taco at Tacos La Bonita
Oxnard Restaurant
(Caitlin Moore / Visit Oxnard)
Oxnard’s tourist board recently launched a taco trail and it’s not just a marketing ploy; the city really is home to some worthy and unassuming places to get your birria fix. The pro move at Tacos La Bonita is the gooey, cheesy quesabirria taco or a couple of the tacos con tortilla a mano (with freshly made tortillas) stuffed with asada or pastor. Other options include lengua en salsa (beef tongue in tomato sauce) and the campechano mixed meat filling.
The setup here is simple: Order from a hole in the wall and find a colorful stool at a table under one of the wooden structures. It’s a bright and cheerful spot — all poinsettias and lightbulb signs on our visit — but can be chilly. Bring a jacket. The joint has been around since 2010 and it recently launched a Sweet & Salty truck slinging churros, salchipulpos (fried hot dog pieces) and elote en palo (sweetcorn slathered in Cotija cheese and chili).
The setup here is simple: Order from a hole in the wall and find a colorful stool at a table under one of the wooden structures. It’s a bright and cheerful spot — all poinsettias and lightbulb signs on our visit — but can be chilly. Bring a jacket. The joint has been around since 2010 and it recently launched a Sweet & Salty truck slinging churros, salchipulpos (fried hot dog pieces) and elote en palo (sweetcorn slathered in Cotija cheese and chili).
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Explore the sand dunes at ‘Ololkoy Beach Park
Oxnard Park
(Visit Oxnard)
‘Ololkoy Beach Park was renamed for the Chumash word for “dolphin” in 2023, and it’s a fitting moniker. You might see the namesake creatures break the surface of the ocean between here and the Channel Islands — and it’s a place that engenders a very playful delphinoid sense of being.
Pull off the road at the newly refurbished playground and park by the huge swaths of grass flanked by rows of palm trees. From here, it’s a short walk (also accessible via wheelchair) along boardwalks through the imposing sand dunes, where miles of sand and surf await.
There’s a mostly protected bike path leading to Oxnard Harbor a mile or so south, too. It passes Zachari Dunes on Mandalay Beach, a decent Hilton hotel with pool, firepits and oceanfront suites if you want to stay overnight and have points to burn.
Pull off the road at the newly refurbished playground and park by the huge swaths of grass flanked by rows of palm trees. From here, it’s a short walk (also accessible via wheelchair) along boardwalks through the imposing sand dunes, where miles of sand and surf await.
There’s a mostly protected bike path leading to Oxnard Harbor a mile or so south, too. It passes Zachari Dunes on Mandalay Beach, a decent Hilton hotel with pool, firepits and oceanfront suites if you want to stay overnight and have points to burn.
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Re-fuel with a latte from Beacon Coffee
Coffee
(Blake Fagan / For The Times)
Beacon is one of the best coffee spots in the area and much of that is thanks to owner John Wheir, who travels to meet producers globally and cares about the cup. It offers the full gamut — espressos, lattes, mochas tinged with lavender or guajillo chili — alongside a range of mugs, hats and all kinds of coffee paraphernalia for making the perfect brew.
Drop in for a barista training session focused on latte art or one of the Brewing Methods Classes where they take one coffee and brew it several different ways “to compare terroir, varietal, process, and how that affects what you taste in the cup.” If you come later in the day, you could always follow up with an apricot ale or blueberry rhubarb blonde at Poseidon Brewing Company next door.
Beacon is technically just across the Santa Clara River and in the southern outskirts of Ventura, but we’re calling it for Oxnard. It’s worth the extra few minutes on the 101 north. Another option that’s strictly in the city: Ragamuffin Coffee Roasters at The Collection Riverpark close to the freeway.
Drop in for a barista training session focused on latte art or one of the Brewing Methods Classes where they take one coffee and brew it several different ways “to compare terroir, varietal, process, and how that affects what you taste in the cup.” If you come later in the day, you could always follow up with an apricot ale or blueberry rhubarb blonde at Poseidon Brewing Company next door.
Beacon is technically just across the Santa Clara River and in the southern outskirts of Ventura, but we’re calling it for Oxnard. It’s worth the extra few minutes on the 101 north. Another option that’s strictly in the city: Ragamuffin Coffee Roasters at The Collection Riverpark close to the freeway.
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Follow in the footsteps of Bob Dylan at the Teatro
Oxnard Theater
(Blake Fagan / For The Times)
The Streamline Moderne Teatro Theater strikes a curious pose next to an Arco in an otherwise unassuming street — and it boasts an equally intriguing history. Originally called the Boulevard Theater when it opened in 1929, it was renamed Teatro Boulevard in the ‘60s when it started screening Spanish-language films.
In the ‘90s, Mark Howard and producer Daniel Lanois (of “Joshua Tree” fame) converted it into a recording studio. Willie Nelson, Iggy Pop and U2 are among the acts to record there. Dylan drove up from his Malibu home to work the Grammy-winning “Time Out of Mind.”
Oxnard’s oldest theater is currently closed to the public but the signage has been restored and it’s worth a quick stop. While you’re in the area, check out another historic theater nearby: The Vogue, which opened in 1941 but now houses a swap meet. Those times, they’re always a-changin’.
In the ‘90s, Mark Howard and producer Daniel Lanois (of “Joshua Tree” fame) converted it into a recording studio. Willie Nelson, Iggy Pop and U2 are among the acts to record there. Dylan drove up from his Malibu home to work the Grammy-winning “Time Out of Mind.”
Oxnard’s oldest theater is currently closed to the public but the signage has been restored and it’s worth a quick stop. While you’re in the area, check out another historic theater nearby: The Vogue, which opened in 1941 but now houses a swap meet. Those times, they’re always a-changin’.
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Ferry to Channel Islands National Park to kayak through sea caves
Oxnard Adventure
(Autumn Schrock / Visit Oxnard)
There’s kayaking and then there’s kayaking. If your previous experience involves circumnavigating yacht-filled marinas or calm lakes, buckle up. A tour of the sea caves around Scorpion Anchorage on Santa Cruz Island will take you through cathedral-sized caverns full of sea lions as well as coffin-sized rocky apertures so tight you have to lean back to get through. The kelp-filled ocean swells and recedes while you’re at it, just to ratchet up the adrenaline. We saw someone snap a paddle on a rock last time we did it.
The Channel Island Adventure Company runs tours spanning 2 1/2 to five hours, and you can hike or snorkel before or after the adventure. Add on a ferry ticket to the tour price or buy separately through Island Packers. Just getting to the islands is a fun, hourlong boat trip out of Oxnard (or Ventura) harbor that’s often accompanied by dozens — if not hundreds — of dolphins.
The Channel Island Adventure Company runs tours spanning 2 1/2 to five hours, and you can hike or snorkel before or after the adventure. Add on a ferry ticket to the tour price or buy separately through Island Packers. Just getting to the islands is a fun, hourlong boat trip out of Oxnard (or Ventura) harbor that’s often accompanied by dozens — if not hundreds — of dolphins.
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Sink an IPA at Bottle & Pint
Oxnard Brewery
(Blake Fagan / For The Times)
Until recently, Oxnard had a truly world-class craft beer spot with Casa Agria on Del Norte. Its taproom sadly closed in early 2026, but we’re crossing all our fingers and toes they find a way to reopen and serve up those legendary sours again soon.
In the meantime, Bottle & Pint at the Collection Riverpark’s Annex Foodhall is the next best thing for ales both local and long-distance. The menu changes with the saisons, but expect German-style lagers from Moorpark’s Enegren, piney IPAs and porters from Ventura’s Topa Topa and MadeWest respectively, and plenty of Firestone and Russian River goodness.
Hunger will inevitably strike after a bottle or a pint (or two), with the smells wafting over from the Mongo Q Mongolian BBQ Kitchen’s 6-foot hot plate next door. The Annex is like a mini Grand Central. Options include Gordo’s Hot Chicken, Love Pho Cafe, Silverlake Ramen and a Ragamuffin Coffee Roasters (which, like Bottle & Pint, started life in Newbury Park). And, for some reason, a random jewelry shop in the middle of it all.
The Collection Riverpark itself is a broad mix of high street joints — Cheesecake Factories here, H&Ms there — a cinema, ax-throwing and plenty of pedestrianized outdoor space to chill in an Adirondack or play table tennis or cornhole. Stop signs say “stop and smell the ocean,” and though you can’t exactly do that here (the Pacific is about five miles away), it’s an apt sentiment.
In the meantime, Bottle & Pint at the Collection Riverpark’s Annex Foodhall is the next best thing for ales both local and long-distance. The menu changes with the saisons, but expect German-style lagers from Moorpark’s Enegren, piney IPAs and porters from Ventura’s Topa Topa and MadeWest respectively, and plenty of Firestone and Russian River goodness.
Hunger will inevitably strike after a bottle or a pint (or two), with the smells wafting over from the Mongo Q Mongolian BBQ Kitchen’s 6-foot hot plate next door. The Annex is like a mini Grand Central. Options include Gordo’s Hot Chicken, Love Pho Cafe, Silverlake Ramen and a Ragamuffin Coffee Roasters (which, like Bottle & Pint, started life in Newbury Park). And, for some reason, a random jewelry shop in the middle of it all.
The Collection Riverpark itself is a broad mix of high street joints — Cheesecake Factories here, H&Ms there — a cinema, ax-throwing and plenty of pedestrianized outdoor space to chill in an Adirondack or play table tennis or cornhole. Stop signs say “stop and smell the ocean,” and though you can’t exactly do that here (the Pacific is about five miles away), it’s an apt sentiment.
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Admire the model ships of a master craftsman at the Channel Islands Maritime Museum
Oxnard Museum
(Visit Oxnard)
The Channel Islands Maritime Museum is a small but beautifully formed two-story building overlooking the harbor with friendly docents prepared to show you around. Permanent galleries showcase European seascape artists of the 1600s to 1800s, the evolution of ships from the American Revolution to the Civil War and a study of the ancient Asian maritime world. It also runs rotating exhibitions, most recently on the pelicans of Southern California.
Perhaps the most striking, though, is the collection of model ships by Edward Marple, who created nine impressively intricate scale models between the 1960s and the 1990s. His version of the HMS Royal Katherine, which was launched by Charles II in 1664, contains more than 8,000 dowels in the hull alone, apparently, so you can’t question his dedication. The exhibition also recreates his workspace. Another room worth perusing: the one housing an extensive collection of bone models, crafted by French prisoners of war during the Napoleonic Wars between 1790 and 1815. They used bones from their rations of meat and recreated the models from memory.
Perhaps the most striking, though, is the collection of model ships by Edward Marple, who created nine impressively intricate scale models between the 1960s and the 1990s. His version of the HMS Royal Katherine, which was launched by Charles II in 1664, contains more than 8,000 dowels in the hull alone, apparently, so you can’t question his dedication. The exhibition also recreates his workspace. Another room worth perusing: the one housing an extensive collection of bone models, crafted by French prisoners of war during the Napoleonic Wars between 1790 and 1815. They used bones from their rations of meat and recreated the models from memory.
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Graze on turf or surf at Ox & Ocean
Oxnard Restaurant
(VRX Studios / Visit Oxnard)
Even if you’re not spending the night, make time for lunch at Zachari Dunes’ main restaurant — and ask for an outdoor table if you want a glimpse of the ocean while you eat. It’s a peaceful spot, with string lights overhead, cacti and a distant soundtrack provided by the pool’s waterfall and the odd joyful shriek from a cannonballing kid.
The menu is focused on locally sourced produce and is divided into farm, ranch and ocean — unsurprising given its location amid farms, ranches and the ocean. Light lunchtime options include a salmon grain bowl with sweet potato, wafer-thin slices of radish and a pumpkin vinaigrette. The fish was beautifully seared and dusted with crushed pistachio on our last visit. Heartier options include a tri-tip sandwich with roasted poblano and slaw on a hoagie roll, or a burger with house-made bacon, onion jam, pickles and cheddar.
Check out the high-ceiling lobby on the way out: It’s filled with posters and photographs themed around local agriculture; a picture of Henry Oxnard, the city’s namesake looking dapper if a bit startled in bow tie and trimmed ‘tache; and a model ship on loan from the Channel Islands Maritime Museum.
The menu is focused on locally sourced produce and is divided into farm, ranch and ocean — unsurprising given its location amid farms, ranches and the ocean. Light lunchtime options include a salmon grain bowl with sweet potato, wafer-thin slices of radish and a pumpkin vinaigrette. The fish was beautifully seared and dusted with crushed pistachio on our last visit. Heartier options include a tri-tip sandwich with roasted poblano and slaw on a hoagie roll, or a burger with house-made bacon, onion jam, pickles and cheddar.
Check out the high-ceiling lobby on the way out: It’s filled with posters and photographs themed around local agriculture; a picture of Henry Oxnard, the city’s namesake looking dapper if a bit startled in bow tie and trimmed ‘tache; and a model ship on loan from the Channel Islands Maritime Museum.
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Catch some Nardcore punk at Mrs. Olson’s
Oxnard Music Venue
(Eric Anderson / Visit Oxnard)
Nardcore kicked off in the ‘80s — a subgenre of hardcore punk comprised primarily of Oxnard bands (hence the portmanteau). If you’re looking for a live hit, or to see some similarly loud and fast SoCal bands, there’s an unlikely spot right at the harbor.
From a boater’s viewpoint, Mrs. Olson’s looks like any other seaside seafood shack, with sand underneath the outdoor tables and sunseekers gobbling huge plates of fried food. Inside, though, it’s a different story. An old steampunk piano lines the way in, bathroom stalls are tiled in records and the walls are decked in a hodgepodge of neon artworks, wooden face masks, graffiti and glitterballs. A kind of psychedelic Cheshire cat grins out from behind the stage. Recent bands have included L.A. ‘70s punkers Angry Samoans, Huntington Beach noisemakers Guttermouth, and Looking West. Check the site or hit up VCHC Shows or Underground Sounds Productions on Instagram for the latest.
The Mystery Shop is another, well, spot for “underground music from the 805” (the cell phone code that spans the region). It also hosts tabletop gaming and collectibles and sells comics. The Oxnard Performing Arts Center, meanwhile, is your go-to for tribute acts and the odd touring musician. It’s run by the same promoters that host gigs at the Canyon in Agoura Hills.
From a boater’s viewpoint, Mrs. Olson’s looks like any other seaside seafood shack, with sand underneath the outdoor tables and sunseekers gobbling huge plates of fried food. Inside, though, it’s a different story. An old steampunk piano lines the way in, bathroom stalls are tiled in records and the walls are decked in a hodgepodge of neon artworks, wooden face masks, graffiti and glitterballs. A kind of psychedelic Cheshire cat grins out from behind the stage. Recent bands have included L.A. ‘70s punkers Angry Samoans, Huntington Beach noisemakers Guttermouth, and Looking West. Check the site or hit up VCHC Shows or Underground Sounds Productions on Instagram for the latest.
The Mystery Shop is another, well, spot for “underground music from the 805” (the cell phone code that spans the region). It also hosts tabletop gaming and collectibles and sells comics. The Oxnard Performing Arts Center, meanwhile, is your go-to for tribute acts and the odd touring musician. It’s run by the same promoters that host gigs at the Canyon in Agoura Hills.
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