Day Trippin’: Ojai, CA

Last Saturday Alan and I decided to go on a day trip to Ojai, a quaint little town just East of Ventura. The downtown area has lots of local boutiques and antique markets that are fun to stroll through. There are also many hiking trails in the area for anyone who wants to get a little workout while enjoying the great outdoors.

Our first stop was the Ventura River Preserve, a 1,600 acre nature preserve about 10 minutes from Downtown Ojai. It features multiple hiking trails, rivers, and large open meadows. We started our hike at the Riverview trailhead, then got on the Wills Canyon trail (lots of pretty sites on this trail!) which we took about halfway and then used the Fern Grotto trail (only .3 miles but all uphill) to cross over to the Chaparral Crest trail to head back to the Riverview trail head. It’s not as complicated as it sounds, I swear! Most trails involve crossing a river so if you’re interested in this hike make sure to wear shoes you don’t mind getting wet, or plan to cross the river barefoot. Find more info here if you’re interested.

After hiking I was definitely ready to eat, so we went to a super cute little cafe called Hip Vegan that my #girlboss recommended (oh, hi Arin!). I got the most amazing tempeh veggie burger and Alan got the Mexican bowl which I had a bite of and would definitely get for myself next time. Their outdoor patio is pretty quaint too.

Next we headed to Bart’s Books, the cutest little outdoor bookstore. This place has a huge selection of used books and has pretty decent prices. I got four books that are on my to-read list and one that I hadn’t heard of but sounded like such a page turner I just had to get it. There was also a cat sleeping behind the register, so you know I’ll go back just to see the cat.

We made a quick little stop in Ventura for a walk on the beach and a quick coffee run before heading home to Long Beach. It was a great little getaway for the day!