The most popular festivals fill hotel rooms so may not be the most opportune time to explore the city with lower room rates. The big festivals include California Strawberry Festival in May. Many of the strawberries you taste throughout the state come from Oxnard. The festival is well-attended and accessible by Amtrak train.
Another festival reflecting the local flavor is Oxnard Salsa Festival in July. The free admission festival of spicy foods and salsa dancing is a fun event filled with vendor booths selling unique crafts & gifts, foods and beverages. Don't miss the Latin bands and your opportunity to get up and dance, or simply watch!
Oxnard was once the sugar beet capital and continues to contain rich farmland for growing flowers and other crops. But like any popular city with a beach, many of the fields have disappeared, replaced by housing an commercial interests.
Oxnard is known as beach destination just an hour's drive north of Los Angeles. Throughout its modern life, the city has enjoyed hosting many celebrities, and perhaps that's why one of its beaches is called Hollywood Beach. For vacations, you can enjoy the same, luxurious views of the Channel Islands as the celebrities of days gone by have at affordable beach hotels such as Embassy Suites Mandalay Beach - our favorite!
In addition to beach vacations and resorts on the sand, be sure to take a day trip to Channel Islands National Park if you are so inclined. Those jewel-like islands that are rustic and natural are operated by and the National Parks Service. You can take guided hikes or be on your own and return back to the comfort of Oxnard for dinner and a night on the town.
Oxnard - Tierra Sur at Herzog Winery: With several wineries for wine sampling, two classic car museums, the ocean, and harbor where boats head daily for the Channel Island National Park for day visits or permit camping, Oxnard is somewhat of a gateway as well as final stop for a beach trip.
Embassy Suites Mandalay Beach, the only hotel on a beach that we are aware of in Oxnard, you'll want to stay at this hidden gem providing beach vacations within reach of the middle income traveler.
A full calendar of events throughout the year includes Harbor Cruise of Lights boat parade, and the big Christmas Parade complete with Santa and his Reindeer in downtown Oxnard.
Many come for the special events by Amtrak train which stops right in the city. Such trips offer one of the best ways to attend the Salsa Festival or Strawberry Festival, two of the top attendance events on the Central Coast.
Oxnard's Historic District is filled with Victorian house charmers that are great to see by car or strolling. At Christmas the houses are lit in festive color and make for delightful viewing, providing an old-fashioned holiday to remember.
Weather: Not much snow if ever you see a flake, the best bet for visiting Oxnard is to take layers of clothing. What does that mean? In the summer have shorts and short sleeves. On a really hot day the weather can reach 100 but that happens maybe one or two days each year. Most the time the weather is around mid-to-low 70s, and in the winter it is in the 60s generally during the day. Though there are fluctuations, by have jackets and sweaters, you just keep adding layers of clothing if you get cold, or take off layers as the day warms up.