Bart's Books, the Arcade, trails above town and the Pink Moment at sunset, plus this week's events in the Ojai Valley.
10 upcoming events in Ojai
This weekend across Ventura County10 events
Nationally recognized comedian Toni Nagy joins LA-based comedian, spoken-word poet and filmmaker Dana May Jamison for an
Today · 7:30 PM
The Ojai Valley Womans Club
Ojai, CAMusic
Jacob Collier
Libbey Bowl, Ojai
Music
Nice as F**k
Deer Lodge, Ojai
You don’t have to drive to Los Angeles to experience one of the most acclaimed contemporary musicals of recent years
This Friday · 10 days
Matilija Auditorium
Ojai, CAHoliday
Downtown Ojai Ghost Walk: Halloween Night
Libbey Park, Ojai
Richard Senate leads a Halloween-night walk through downtown Ojai's ghost stories, ages 14 and up
Oct 31 · 7:30 PM
Libbey Park
Ojai, CAMusic
Fitz and the Tantrums
Libbey Bowl, Ojai
concert featuring Fitz and the Tantrums
Nov 6 · 7:00 PM
Libbey Bowl
Ojai, CAMusic
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
Libbey Bowl, Ojai
concert featuring Rodrigo Y Gabriela
Nov 12 · 7:00 PM
Libbey Bowl
Ojai, CA
Art Salon for Adults meets the 2nd Saturday of the month
Nov 14 · 10:00 AM
Oak View Library
Ojai, CACharity
Light Up a Life: Ojai Ceremony
Carolyn Glasoe Bailey Foundation, Ojai
To dedicate a star, view ceremony locations or learn more, visit www.lmvna.org/lightupalife
Dec 2 · 5:30 PM
Carolyn Glasoe Bailey Foundation
Ojai, CAArt Salon for Adults meets the 2nd Saturday of the month
Dec 12 · 10:00 AM
Oak View Library
Ojai, CAOjai is a small city, home to about 7,500 people in the state's January 2026 estimate. R.G. Surdam laid out the town in 1873 and named it Nordhoff the next year, after Charles Nordhoff, author of California for Health, Pleasure, and Residence. By 1917 the town had become Ojai, and it incorporated as a city in 1921. Much of downtown was shaped by Edward Libbey, a glass manufacturer who settled here in 1907. He paid for the Mission Revival Arcade along Ojai Avenue, the post office and its 65-foot bell tower, and Libbey Park, which he gave to the town on April 7, 1917.
Libbey Park is still the center of town. It holds Libbey Bowl, home of the Ojai Music Festival every June, and it's the headquarters of the Ojai tennis tournament, which dates to 1896. Bart's Books, open since 1964, still sells books from the shelves along its outside walls on the honor system, and the Ojai Valley Trail runs 9 miles from the edge of downtown to Foster Park. At sunset, the visitor bureau sends people up the Dennison Grade to watch Ojai's famous Pink Moment. Below you'll find this week's Ojai events, then the trails, museums, shopping and kid-friendly spots worth knowing, where to eat, and the annual events worth planning around.
Details checked Sep 16, 2026. Hours and prices change, so confirm with the venue before you go.
A 9-mile county trail from Fox Street in Ojai to Foster Park, with a paved side for walkers and bikes and a separate side for horses. It was repaved in 2025.
Free
Open dawn to dusk. Dogs on a leash of 6 feet or less. Parking at Libbey Park, Oak View, Casitas Springs and Foster Park, with restrooms at Libbey and Foster.
Official info for Ojai Valley TrailAn easy to moderate walk on an unpaved road along the hills above the north edge of town.
Free
Enter at Gridley Rd. or Signal St. Open dawn to dusk. Street parking is very limited, and there are no restrooms. Dogs on a leash of 6 feet or less.
Official info for Shelf Road TrailA meditation center founded in 1971. Visits are by registration only, and the sanctuary opens in the late afternoon and stays open until sunset most open days.
10340 Reeves Rd. · $15 per person
Just outside city limits. Open Wednesday and Friday to Sunday from 3pm to sunset and Thursday 3 to 5; closed Monday and Tuesday. Registration opens 60 days ahead. No pets or food.
Official info for Meditation MountA reservoir with boating, fishing, camping, playgrounds and the Wadleigh Arm trail. It's a drinking water supply, so swimming and wading aren't allowed.
11311 Santa Ana Rd. · $15 per vehicle from Labor Day to Easter; $25 on weekends and holidays from Easter to Labor Day
Outside city limits. Open sunrise to sunset. Boats must be hard-shell and pass an inspection with a 35-day quarantine. Dogs on a 6-foot leash, kept 50 feet from the water.
Official info for Lake Casitas Recreation AreaThe valley's history museum, in the former St. Thomas Aquinas church, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Exhibits include a Sespe Wilderness diorama.
130 W. Ojai Ave. · Suggested donation $5 adults, $1 ages 6 to 18, free under 6
Open Thursday to Sunday 10 to 4, and until 7 on third Fridays, when it's free all day. Walking tours leave Saturdays at 10:30 from November to June.
Official info for Ojai Valley MuseumThe outdoor amphitheater in Libbey Park, with 973 seats plus lawn space, home of the Ojai Music Festival every June and concerts through the year.
210 S. Signal St. · Varies by show
No dogs at shows. The venue recommends taking the Ojai Trolley to concerts.
Official info for Libbey BowlA community art center founded in 1939, and one of the two stages for the Ojai Storytelling Festival.
113 S. Montgomery St.
Open Tuesday to Friday 10 to 4 and Saturday and Sunday noon to 4; closed Mondays.
Official info for Ojai Art CenterThe Upper Ojai home and studio of the artist Beatrice Wood, who moved to Ojai in 1947, kept as a living museum.
8585 Ojai-Santa Paula Rd., Upper Ojai · $10
Outside city limits. Open Friday to Sunday 11 to 5.
Official info for Beatrice Wood Center for the ArtsAn open-air bookstore running since 1964 that calls itself the world's largest outdoor bookstore. The shelves along its outside walls still sell on the honor system.
302 W. Matilija St.
Open daily 10 to 6, rain or shine; closed Thanksgiving and Christmas. No pets.
Official info for Bart's BooksDowntown's shops line Ojai Avenue under the Mission Revival Arcade that Edward Libbey paid for, designed in 1917 and renovated in 2002, across the street from Libbey Park.
Ojai Ave. at Signal St.
The Ojai Trolley is $1.50 a ride or $4 for a day pass, and free for kids under 45 inches.
Official info for The Arcade and Ojai AvenueThe Sunday market behind the Arcade.
300 E. Matilija St. · Free to browse
Sundays 9 to 1, rain or shine. No dogs. The Ojai Community Farmers Market also runs Thursdays 3 to 7 at 414 E. Ojai Ave.
Official info for Ojai Certified Farmers MarketAn olive oil farm outside town with tastings of its oils.
1811 Ladera Rd. · Tastings $15 weekdays, $20 weekends
Outside city limits. Open daily 10 to 4, with last tastings at 3:30. Leashed dogs are welcome outdoors.
Official info for Ojai Olive OilThe 7.5-acre park downtown, with a playground and toddler area, eight tennis courts, a fountain and the Trimpin Sound Arch, and the Ojai Valley Trail running through it.
205 E. Ojai Ave. · Free
Chess in the Park meets the third Saturday of the month at 10am.
Official info for Libbey ParkA 223-acre county park with a playground and a 1-acre dog park with separate areas for large and small dogs.
$2 per vehicle weekdays, $5 weekends
Open 7:30am to dusk. Dogs are allowed only in the dog park.
Official info for Soule ParkA city park with a shaded playground, ballfields and a gym.
510 Park Rd. · Free
Open 7am to 10pm.
Official info for Sarzotti ParkA county park and campground on the Dennison Grade, with a playground and campsites.
$2 per vehicle weekdays, $5 weekends and holidays
Outside city limits. Open 7:30am to dusk. Dogs on a leash of 6 feet or less.
Official info for Dennison ParkWell-reviewed local spots from our directory, chosen by rating and number of reviews. Chains are left out.
What's opening soon, what just opened and what's been announced, each checked against its source.
The Ojai Valley landmark came back under new operators as a garden-to-table Italian restaurant, with a daytime cafe and pasta and pizza dinners.
102 Besant Rd, Meiners Oaks
Checked Sep 14, 2026 with Ojai Valley News
Good to know
Its small downtown with the 1917 Arcade and Libbey Park, Bart's Books, the Ojai Music Festival at Libbey Bowl, a tennis tournament that dates to 1896, Pixie tangerines every April and the Pink Moment at sunset. The town was called Nordhoff until the name changed to Ojai by 1917.
Ojai's visitor bureau suggests watching the sunset from the Dennison Grade on Highway 150 to catch the Pink Moment. The Ojai Valley Inn describes it as the alpenglow that spreads across the Topatopa bluffs at dusk. If you stop on the grade, use a pullout and park fully off the road.
Yes. Visits are by registration only, up to 60 days ahead, and cost $15 per person. It's open Wednesday and Friday to Sunday from 3pm until sunset and Thursday from 3 to 5pm, and closed Monday and Tuesday. Pets and food aren't allowed.
No. Lake Casitas is a drinking water supply, so swimming, wading and any other body contact with the water are banned. Boating, fishing and camping are allowed, and the day-use fee is $15 per vehicle from Labor Day to Easter. The Casitas Water Adventure water park is closed and says it will be back in 2027.
Yes, on a leash of 6 feet or less. Dogs aren't allowed inside Bart's Books, at Libbey Bowl shows or at the Sunday farmers market, and at Soule Park they're allowed only in the dog park.
The Ojai Certified Farmers Market runs Sundays from 9am to 1pm at 300 E. Matilija St., behind the Arcade, rain or shine. There's also a Thursday market from 3 to 7pm at 414 E. Ojai Ave.
Walk, or take the Ojai Trolley: $1.50 a ride or $4 for a day pass, free for kids under 45 inches, running daily except major holidays. Since August 1, 2026, it no longer stops at the Ojai Valley Inn. City parking lots are at Signal and Matilija streets and at the Arcade Plaza.
Neighborhoods, schools, commute times and home prices, all in one guide.
Read the Ojai living guide