Santa Paula, CA

The California Oil Museum is dedicated to showcasing the history of oil in California and the impact it had on generations of Californians. Based in the Santa Paula Hardware Company Building, otherwise known as the Union Oil Company Building, the birthplace of the Union Oil Company in 1890, the California Oil Museum highlights the inner workings of California’s black gold industry through a variety of photographs, working models, interactive displays, gas station artifacts, videos, and an authentic cable-tool drilling rig from the turn-of-the-century. Visitors can enjoy docent-led tours of the upper level of the museum, which features restored offices from the 1890s when the Union Oil Company was at its zenith, learn how the Native Americans used natural oil seeps, watch a miniature drilling rig bore into the earth, and take a step back in time and explore the memorable brands of gas bought by early California car drivers. The museum is home to the open-air Lundgren Courtyard, which is a perfect spot for picnics.

1001 E Main St, Santa Paula, CA 93060, Phone: 805-933-0076

The Santa Paula Art Museum is dedicated to collecting, preserving and exhibiting Santa Paula’s artistic heritage and to educate and engage the community about the importance of art. The museum features the famous Santa Paula Civic Art Collection which is spread across two distinctive spaces – the Jeanette Cole Art Center and the Cole Creativity Center. The Jeanette Cole Art Center is located in the beautifully restored 1924 Limoneira Building in historic downtown Santa Paula and the institution’s primary exhibition space. The space plays host to a variety of rotating exhibitions of contemporary and vintage art, cultural events, and a gift shop, while the newly renovated Cole Creativity Center, which is located next door, provides a space to inspire artists to create and innovate. The Cole Creativity Center also offers a variety of creative educational programming for children, teens, and adults.

117 N 10th St, Santa Paula, CA 93060, Phone: 805-525-5554

The Museum of Ventura County - Agriculture Museum showcases the history of agriculture in Ventura County. Located next to the Southern Pacific Railroad station in downtown Santa Paula, the museum is based in the historic Mill building, which was built as an agricultural warehouse in 1888, and features a remarkable collection of over 1,000 unique artifacts, including vintage farm equipment and tools, plows, bean threshers, blacksmith anvils, tractors, hand-operated nut hullers, and orchard wind machines. The museum also owns an impressive collection of photographs, periodicals, clothing, and considered to be one of the most extensive assemblages in the state. Other museum attractions include vintage tractors and a working beehive.

926 Railroad Ave, Santa Paula, CA 93060, Phone: 805-525-3100

Attractions for Couples

The Santa Paula Theater Center is a community theater in downtown Santa Paula that produces and presents exceptional theater presentations to the tri-counties. Based in the Ebell Club of Santa Paula, a mansion built in 1917 as a women's club with the aim of the advancement of culture, the theater center has been first class local theater experiences to the community since 1985. The Santa Paula Theater Center presents a Main Stage five-show season and a Back Stage at SPTC Alternative four-show season of period dramas, comedies, mysteries, and newly released small theater productions. The center also presents a four-performance concert series, acting training, and a variety of educational programs, workshops, and acting classes for youth and adults.

125 S 7th St, Santa Paula, CA 93060, Phone: 805-525-4645

The Floating Granite Ball, also referred to as the ‘Kugel Ball’ is an interactive kinetic ball fountain measuring four feet in diameter and weighing 8,800 pounds. The sculpture features a sphere resting within a spherical pocket on a pedestal that is supported by a thin film of water. The water flowing between the pocket and the sphere creates a near frictionless mechanical fluid bearing and can be moved by the touch of a hand. Being denser than water, the sphere does not float, but efficient bearing allows it to be spun by contact and the hydraulics of the fountain can be controlled so that it rotates continually on different axes.

Santa Barbara Street, Railroad Community Park, Santa Paula, CA 93060

Recommended Activities for Families

The Aviation Museum of Santa Paula is focused on the history of aviation in Santa Paula and Ventura County and highlights the Golden Age of Aviation. Located at the historic non-towered Santa Paula Airport, the museum boasts a variety of exhibits and displays relating to aviation history, aviation pioneers, and pilots with the aim of educating and inspiring the public to take an interest in aviation. The museum is open on the first Sunday of every month, and visitors can explore the Chain of Hangars, which is comprised of privately owned hangars with exhibits that tell the history of the founding of Santa Paula Airport in 1930 and a variety of antique aircraft, memorabilia, and vehicles.

800 E Santa Maria St, Santa Paula, CA 93060, Phone: 805-525-1109

Santa Paula Canyon Falls / Punch Bowls is a six-mile out-and-back trail in the Los Padres National Forest that is rated as moderate and features a beautiful waterfall. The Santa Paula Canyon Trail begins in the hills behind Thomas Aquinas College and leads to the Punch Bowls and is a reasonably challenging hike with interesting features, with many steep drop-offs and high cliffs. The trail passes Big Cone Camp after 3.4 miles, which has shady campsites and plenty of water, and another mile further, Cross Camp with secluded, neatly arranged campsites overlooking Santa Paula Creek.

Santa Paula, CA 93060

The George Washington Faulkner House, also known as Faulkner House and as Faulkner Farm is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as being an outstanding example of Queen Anne architecture. The historically significant Queen Anne style house was designed and built by Franklin P. Ward and Herman Anlauf in 1894 and is set on a 27.2-acre property that also features an 1886 barn and an outhouse.

287 S Briggs Rd, Santa Paula, CA 93060, Phone: 805-525-9293