Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, located in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles. Approximately 15 miles (24 km) from the city of Los Angeles and 40 miles (64 km) from Downtown Los Angeles, it is named after the many oak trees present in the area.
Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County, California on its western border with Ventura County. It incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County. The population of the city was 8,029 at the 2020 census, down from 8,270 at the 2010 census.
The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both southeastern Ventura County and northwestern Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States. It is located in the northwestern part of the Greater Los Angeles Area.
Newbury Park is a populated place and town in Ventura County, California, United States. Most of it lies within the western Thousand Oaks city limits, while unincorporated areas include Casa Conejo and Ventu Park. The town is located in Southern California around 8 miles (13 km) from the Pacific Ocean and has a mild year-round climate, scenic mountains, and environmental preservation. About 28,000 residents of Thousand Oaks reside in Newbury Park.
The Stagecoach Inn Museum in Newbury Park, California, originally known as the Grand Union Hotel, was used as a resting area for people who traveled from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara. Besides a hotel and stagecoach stop, it has also been used as a post office, church, restaurant and military school. It is California Historical Landmark No. 659 and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It played a major role in the development of the stage line transportation network in California. The hotel was also the first business venture in the Conejo Valley.
The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is a performing arts center and city hall for the city of Thousand Oaks, California. Across Thousand Oaks Boulevard from Gardens of the World, the site is considered the downtown core of the city. City hall includes Planning and Building Department, Public Works and other city departments. A park within the site is named for Richard Carpenter and his wife Mary.
The Oaks is a two-level indoor/outdoor, regional shopping mall located in Thousand Oaks, California. It is owned and managed by Macerich. Accessible from US Highway 101 midway between downtown Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, it is the largest shopping center in Ventura County. Over five million visit the mall each year. The mall features JCPenney, Macy's, Macy's Men's and Home Store, Nordstrom, in addition to a 14-screen dine-in AMC Theatres.
The Grant R. Brimhall Library serves as the main library for the city of Thousand Oaks, California. It is controlled by the Thousand Oaks Library System, which also controls the Newbury Park Branch Library. The Grant R. Brimhall Building is located on Janss Rd. near State Route 23. There are 81,000 square feet (7,500 m2) in the main building and 3,000 square feet (280 m2) in the adjacent Special Collections Storage building. It serves Thousand Oaks, including Newbury Park and Westlake Village. It is the largest library in Ventura County, the largest library in the region, and one of the largest in Southern California.
Rancho El Conejo was a 48,572-acre (196.56 km2) Spanish land grant in California given in 1803 to Jose Polanco and Ygnacio Rodriguez that encompassed the area now known as the Conejo Valley in southeastern Ventura and northwestern Los Angeles Counties. El Conejo is Spanish for "The Rabbit", and refers to the many rabbits common to the region. The east-west grant boundaries approximately went from the border of Westlake Village near Lindero Canyon Road in the east to the Conejo Grade in the west. The north-south borders extended from the top of the Simi Hills at the end of Moorpark Road in the north to Hidden Valley in the Santa Monica Mountains in the south. The rancho is the site of the communities of Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks, and Westlake Village.
Lake Eleanor, also known as Banning Dam, is an 8-acre (3.2 ha) freshwater lake near Westlake Village in Thousand Oaks, California. The lake lies within the 513-acre (208 ha) Lake Eleanor Open Space and was Ventura County Historic Landmark No. 120 in 1988. It is also designated City of Thousand Oaks Historical Landmark No. 9. Under ownership of Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA), the lake sits in a gorge with sheer cliffs and drops of 40–50 ft (12–15 m). An artificial lake, it was first constructed in 1889, and may be the first concrete arched dam built in California.
Arroyo Conejo carries part of the longest creek in the Conejo Valley which sprawls past the cities of Thousand Oaks and Camarillo, and the communities of Newbury Park, Casa Conejo and Santa Rosa Valley. Arroyo Conejo is the primary drainage for the City of Thousand Oaks. Its watershed covers 57 square miles (150 km2) of which 43 square miles (110 km2) are in the Conejo Valley and 14 square miles (36 km2) in the Santa Rosa Valley.
Dos Vientos Open Space is a 1,216 acres (492 ha) open space area in western Newbury Park, California. It contains more than 41 miles (66 km) of trails used for cycling, hiking and equestrians. Originally a part of the Rancho Guadalasca Spanish Land Grant of 1836, the area is now an important wildlife movement corridor into the Santa Monica Mountains through the Point Mugu State Park. It provides a habitat for a variety of wildlife, including bobcats, mule deer, coyotes, eagles, hawks, barn owls, mountain lions, and more. It provides regional and internal trail connections, many trails offering panoramic views of the Conejo Valley, Oxnard Plain, Topatopa Mountains, Channel Islands, and the Pacific Ocean. Some of the endangered plant species found here include Conejo buckwheat, Verity's liveforever, and Conejo dudleya. The landscape is undeveloped, and dominated by coastal sage scrub, grassy hillsides, oak woodlands, and chaparral habitats.
Ventu Park Open Space is a 141-acre open space area in Newbury Park, California. Its primary features are the Rosewood Trail leading to Angel Vista, a 1,603 ft peak in the Santa Monica Mountains. Parking for the Rosewood Trail is located at the Stagecoach Inn Park, across Lynn Road from the primary trailhead. The Rosewood Trail begins with oak woodland and crosses a creek at the canyon floor, before climbing up towards the steep Angel Vista Point. There are 360-degree panoramic views of the Conejo Valley, the Oxnard Plain, the California Channel Islands, Pacific Ocean, Point Mugu, Hidden Valley, as well as the Santa Monica-, Santa Susana- and Topa Topa Mountains.
Mount Clef Ridge is a 1,076 ft volcanic mountain in Thousand Oaks, California. It is a volcanic outcrop that resulted from lava eruptions 30 million years ago. The ridge was formerly under ownership by the Janss Corporation, but was acquired by the Conejo Recreation and Park District (CRPD) in 1967. Trails here are available from Santa Rosa Valley, Newbury Park and Wildwood Regional Park. Although being a major feature of Wildwood, it occupies its own open-space area bordering Wildwood's northern boundaries. Mount Clef Ridge Open Space Area occupies 212 acres. From the ridge are great panoramic views of Santa Rosa Valley, Conejo Valley, Hill Canyon, as well as the Santa Susana-, Santa Monica- and Topatopa Mountains. The open-space area is home to plants such as coastal sage scrub, chaparral, Lyon's pentachaeta and Conejo dudleya. The fauna includes mountain lions, deer, coyotes, gray foxes, and more.
Conejo Valley Airport, also known as Janss Airport, was an airport in Thousand Oaks, California. It had a 2,600 foot runway and was located adjacent to Thousand Oaks Boulevard. The airport opened in 1926, but was relocated in the early 1960s. The new airport, known as Rancho Conejo Airport, was established on the north side of State Highway 101. Various movies were filmed at Conejo Valley Airport, including The Paleface (1948), Riders of the Whistling Pines (1949), and Overland Stage Raiders (1938). Rancho Conejo Airport appeared in the film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963).
Thousand Oaks Boulevard, previously known as Ventura Boulevard, is a street in the Conejo Valley, Ventura County. It stretches from Thousand Oaks through Westlake Village to Agoura Hills. In Thousand Oaks, it is located in the downtown area and was also known as Main Street until the Moorpark Freeway was completed in the 1960s. Today it remains one of the busiest commercial areas in Thousand Oaks, although many businesses are also located at The Oaks and Janss Marketplace. It is Thousand Oaks’ major east-west thoroughfare, connecting The Oaks mall on the west to Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza in the east. It runs parallel to the Ventura Freeway. As of 2017, over 230 businesses are housed on Thousand Oaks Boulevard.
Janss Marketplace is an outdoor shopping mall in Thousand Oaks, California. Previously known as Janss Mall, it opened in September 1961 as Village Lane. It was the first mall established in the city, and Thousand Oaks' only shopping center until The Oaks was built in 1978. 39 businesses are located here as of 2024. Conejo Valley Art Museum is also located here. It is home to well-known anchoring stores - Nordstrom Rack, and Old Navy. - along with specialty shops and fast food establishments. It has a nine-screen movie theater and is surrounded by neighborhood restaurants.
Conejo Recreation and Park District (CRPD) is the park management agency for most of the parks in the Conejo Valley, California. Established in 1962, CRPD later established Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA) in 1977 through a joint effort with the City of Thousand Oaks. COSCA administers over 15,000 acres of open space and 140 miles of trails, while CRPD administers over 50 community parks. In 2019, CRPD's annual operating budget was $20 million, of which about 70% comes from property taxes.
Timber School was the first school in Newbury Park, California when established in 1889. and the current 1924 reconstructed Timber School is the oldest remaining school in the City of Thousand Oaks. It is also the oldest remaining public building in the Conejo Valley.
