Picture it-gentle ocean breezes, the salty tang in the air, and families in their Sunday best unfolding checkered picnic blankets. The Fosters’ generosity gave Ventura its beautiful gateway to the beach. Not only could you picnic, but you could play tennis, stroll under shady trees, and if you really squinted, maybe even catch a miniature train chugging along. And that’s not just a daydream! Around 1901, John J. Coit installed a real miniature railway here with a locomotive he designed himself. That engine chugged along tracks barely wider than your shoe, filling the air with laughter and a very respectable amount of steam.
Fast forward a few decades, and Seaside Park wasn’t just for scenic strolls. Nope! The open grounds became home to Babe Ruth Field, where baseball teams like the Ventura Braves and Ventura Oilers played ball. Imagine the crack of the bat and the cheer of the crowds filling the air. Film crews even rolled in from Hollywood-picture a young Red Grange racing around the fairground track in the movie Racing Romeo, or the thunder of horse hooves thundering down the track for The Pride of Palomar, all under the watchful eye-and wallet-of William Randolph Hearst.
These days, the sounds you’ll hear are a little different but just as exciting. The Ventura County Fair transforms the grounds into a whirl of lights, confections, and laughter every summer. The fair is home to everything from livestock shows to funnel cakes to live concerts-plus a few over-caffeinated kids who just tried the world’s largest corn dog. Throughout the year, the fairgrounds aren’t just for fairs-you might stumble on a concert, a trade show, an equestrian spectacle in the huge 110,000 square foot arena-and, until recently, a horse race or two for the Derby Club crowd.
If you’re a fan of wheels, you might have caught the latest X Games right here in 2023! Sound barriers trembled as skateboarders, BMX riders, and Moto X daredevils flew through the air, sometimes into a perfectly good hot tub. Even skateboarding legend Tony Hawk returned, while Ventura’s own Curren Caples wowed his hometown fans. For a few wild days, the park echoed with the roar of engines, the scrape of boards, and the thunderous applause of fans.
Of course, the waves out at Surfers’ Point are another attraction entirely-drawing surfers from all over with their legendary point break. In the 2010s, fierce debates crashed just as hard as those waves: Should they build a seawall to protect the bike path from the hungry ocean, or let nature take its course? Surfers, environmentalists, and city planners all had their say, and Ventura made history with California’s first “managed retreat”-moving the beloved bike and pedestrian path inland and letting dunes and cobble buffer the sea. When storms hammered the coast a decade later, those dunes stood strong, giving everyone a sigh of relief and maybe a surfboard high five.
Along the edge runs the Omer Rains Bike Trail-think of it as Ventura’s own Pacific Coast Highway for bikers. It connects San Buenaventura and Emma Wood State Beaches, serving as part of the grand California Coastal Trail and offering access to sweet surf and waterfront sunsets all year.
Today, as you stand here, can you hear the echoes of old baseball cheers, the rumble of fair rides, the hum of skateboard wheels, and maybe, if you listen carefully, a faint whistle from a miniature steam train gone by? This is Seaside Park-a place born from vision, built with community, and alive with memories new and old. Now that’s what I call a fair deal!
