lake casitas recreation area

I like the spacious campground, fishing, and waterpark for the kids. They have a very friendly staff as well...lots of things to do in Ojai which is just up the road.

We have enjoyed Casitas many times. Known for fishing but has great views and at the right time of year moderate temps. During the summer it will be hot so be prepared. And at about 10 pm they close the gate to prevent the partiers from coming and going. We sometimes rent a boat just for a cruise on the lake. They have a water park for the kids and a decent restaurant at the marina. Breakfast and lunch. One little drawback is the pit toilets but there are flush ones by the front gate. And hot showers. The store is typical but if you forget something there is a great store about a mile down the road past the dam. Also a model plane airstrip next to the M area can be entertaining, get a site near the lake in Mallard or there are, I'm sure many great ones tho some are very close togeather. Choose a site at the gate and go find the one you like. Then return and change it. This is a great car camping lake but be kind to your neighbors so everyone can have a good time.

Lake Casitas is not located in Ventura; it's in nearby Ojai, a twenty minute or so drive from west Ventura. A great way to enjoy the lake is by renting a kayak.

Kayaking is an exceptional way to see the wildlife and beautiful scenery of Lake Casitas. Highly recommended, especially for mid/intermediate level kayakers and above. You can rent kayaks at the boat shop.For details on this adventure, visits DavidLeeTravel.com.

Although the level is low this is really the best place in Ventura County to fish. Some of the largest Bass ever have been caught here world renown. Park employees are always friendly and helpful.Great Camping here also.I have been coming here for years.

Been going camping here since our kids (now almost 30) were young. It was a spot for us, family and friends to enjoy the outdoors and each others company. We left the CA in 2008 for the Midwest. We recently flew out there and booked a camping trip for 60 people... A reunion of sorts... Good memories... Who flies from IL to CA just to go camping for the weekend? WE DO! LOL...

If you want to escape the heat, or just do something a little different, take the afternoon and go to the Lake Casitas Water Park. No big slides or monster attractions here. Just a fun "structure" in the middle of a wading pool (with sprays, squirts, little slides) and a lazy river to float around. The staff are friendly, there are lots of lifeguards to keep your kids safe so you can float around the lazy river or sit in one of the shaded or sunny chairs and read a book. The air is hot, but very dry, so you cool off each time in the water and warm up outside it.

Large camping recreation area. Over crowded in the summer. Not enough bathrooms for the amount of people camping. Bathrooms were filthy. It was hot and small water park was to capacity. No tickets were available. Book tickets in advance if you are staying in the summer. There are some campsites with lots of trees and shade. I would not go back.

Well, it is a twisty turn laden drive from SB to this lake. It was difficult to find the site in this campground do to poor site marking. They do have full hookups and I even got cable! This place is crowded but it is the height of vacation season. I was very disappointed as the lake was low and no water was able to even be seen from my site. The staff there was very friendly and helpful and a nice couple is found running the store. Prices are decent for where your at. Fishing was only able to be accomplished by boat at about 20' deep or more. They had some kind of fresh water clam which I was not sure if it was edible but in abundance . 1 hiking trail up a steep hill was near and that was about it. This is a great place for larger camp group for the size aspect but would not suggest as a good place for RV camping unless the water was higher.

Lake Casitas Water Park is a great place to take your pre-school and elementary aged kids! Weather is warm in the summer and the water is refreshingly cool and clean. One area of the water park is full of slides and waterfalls and is shallow enough for 5 year olds to feel comfortable with. The other area is a lazy river which includes lots of park supplied inner tubes to float on. This area is about chest deep on most adults. Food is not allowed inside the water park itself, however there are picnic tables available on the periphery should you want to bring your own lunch. There is also a snack bar which provides drinks and munchies for a fee. Lots of life guards constantly walking around monitoring and supervising the kids activities in the water. Kinda of expensive at $12 per person regardless of age or water participation, but worth it for a day of fun for the kids!!

Drove to look at the lake and came to the campground. They were having a pig roast on site. The water park was nice for your camping enjoyment. The camp sites were wider and there was more shade trees than I had seen in other areas. The small town of Ojai is 5 miles up the rode.

We've visited at times for the past 20 years, day visits and multi night camping. Boating-fishing, the place is OK and recreation improvements I see for kids have been made over the recent years.

Campsites are wall-to-wall here, especially in the heart of the campgrounds. However, there are a few sites that are more secluded, and can be picked out from the campsite maps. I couldn't see any of my neighbors from my site -which was really nice. Other reviews were right, the 10 o'clock quiet time was not enforced. One night people were up real late, the next night it was quiet - just depends on who your neighbors are. The porter potties were surprisingly clean for the amount of people camping there. And the campsite was clean as well when we arrived. The water park is PERFECT for little kids. We went on Sunday and it wasn't too crowded, Saturday sold out though. Not really something you'd want to spend more than a couple hours at, for it is rather small. Lake was gorgeous and friend actually caught a bass

I stopped briefly by the lake to take in the sights and sounds. I was very happy to be able to see a bald eagle nest and later on the eagles flying around. One of the younger birds had an ID tag on the wings which tells me these birds are being studied and monitored - which is a good thing. Eagles are a protected species!

Nice picnic areas. Good place to do a group BBQ. Not a good place for fishing on sunny days because trees are scarce. Entrance fee is a little expensive ($15) but you have the beautiful mountain and lake scene.