Where to Get Wet in Ojai
NO MEMBERSHIP NECESSARY
Updated for Summer 2026
PHOTO: OUSD.ORG
NEW: NORDHOFF POOL
The Ojai Recreation Department has opened up the Nordhoff High School pool for public swim this summer, Monday through Friday, 11 am to 3 pm, and Sunday, 2 to 6 pm. $5 a person at the door, free for kids under two, Apple Pay, card, or cash. No Saturday hours yet. Initial reports are saying it’s not as crowded as one would expect.
FROM @casitas_water_adventure
CASITAS WATER ADVENTURE
Need a place to go for the day? Try Casitas Water Adventure at Lake Casitas. The park features a Lazy River where you can float through scenic waterways with waterfalls and bridges. Lifeguards are stationed at every turn to ensure your family's safety, and inner tubes and life jackets are available free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last.
The park offers shaded decks, lounge chairs, showers, restrooms, and a snack bar for comfort and convenience. The aquatic play structure has three large slides (forty-two inch minimum height, one slide for all ages), two dump buckets, and numerous water features.
The park runs 11 am to 6 pm at $20 per person. Weekends and holidays split into two sessions, 10:30 am to 2 pm and 3 to 6:30 pm, and single admission is now $28 per person. The weekday season pass is now $125. Children under two still get in free. Group sales (twenty-five or more, weekdays only) are handled by phone now rather than posted online, so call Guest Services at (805) 649-1122 for current rates.
New this year: shade structures are $75 per day plus a $10 reservation fee, same as before, but there's now a second, pricier tier, cushioned lounge-style cabanas that seat five to six, for $100 per day plus the $10 fee.
PHOTO FROM CASITAS WATER DISTRICT
NEW AT CASITAS WATER ADVENTURE: THE CLUBHOUSE
A party-room rental for up to fifteen guests, three hours, with an optional second room bumping capacity to thirty. $250 per room. Add weekday water park admission for the whole group at $20 per person.
STILL GOING: LAZY RIVER WATER AEROBICS!
Water aerobics is back for 2026, running through September 4. Morning classes are Monday through Friday, 9:30 to 10:30 am; evening classes have been trimmed to select Wednesdays only, 6:15 to 7:15 pm. A single session is now $10 and punch cards run $45 for five classes or $90 for ten. New restriction: participants must be fourteen or older. Old 2025 punch cards still work this season.
NEW: FLOATING SOUND BATHS
If Nordhoff and Casitas have a few too many kids for your taste, Mimi Camarillo's Aquãtez Ojai Watsu runs Floating Sound Bath sessions out of a heated pool (98.6 degrees, body temperature, on purpose) at her home studio on Mesa Drive. You float, she plays singing bowls around and sometimes over you, roughly every other Saturday, 4:30 to 7 pm. Camarillo's been doing aquatic bodywork in Ojai for over two decades and is a certified water release therapy provider and sound healing practitioner. Sessions run $99 to $120 depending on date and sell out regularly, so book ahead through Eventbrite.
FROM Aquãtez Ojai Watsu ON EVENTBRITE
FROM SWIMPLY.COM
SWIMPLY
Have a little more budget? Swimply, the Airbnb for pools, lets you book private swimming spots for a fun, crowd-free experience.
Opal's Acres is still, as far as I can tell, the only listing in Ojai proper. Same mini-farm paradise on 1.5 acres, host Natasha, verified, 23 reviews, usually responds within two hours. Up to seventy guests, pets welcome (not in the pool), free cancellation if you bail three days out, private restroom, parking for three cars.
Base rate is $100 an hour, but there's a standing 20 percent weekday discount that brings it to $80 an hour for anywhere from one to ten guests. Weekend rate is the full $100.
FROM ADOBE
GO NATURAL
Need a free pool? There’s an abundance of swimming holes in the Ventura River Preserve, Matilija, Santa Paula, Sespe Creeks, and more. Pack up a picnic, grab your swimsuits, and explore these natural oases. But I better not say more, or the locals might come after me!
