Take a Day Trip to Ojai

Mar 14

Last weekend, my friend Dianna came to visit from San Francisco. She in an adventurous spirit so I always try and make fun and active plans when we get together. This particular Friday, I had an errand to run up north so I figured we'd head to Ojai after and do a hike. After hunting around I found a link to Pratt Trail, a 6-mile hike in Los Padres National Forest.

Hike Pratt Trail

Pratt Trail was easy to find. We parked on a residential road nearby and entered the park. The signs at the start of the trail were clear, and the trail was well kept. It's a very green trail, vibrant and full of trees, flowers, and cacti. Some of the trail winds through residential backyards which feels a bit invasive bit it's only a short portion of the trek.

We continued on the trail and ended up on a ridge overlooking the Ojai Valley. It was beautiful! We wandered through some brush up at the top for a while exploring the vista. We were supposed to be on a loop trail but it wasn't well marked and it didn't feel like it would lead back to the starting point. Since we got a late start, we decided to be safe and head back the way we came.

Dine at Azu

It was about 3:30pm when we got back to the car, we went to downtown Ojai which was close by to have a bite to eat at Azu. This restaurant was recommended to me by a friend who lives in the area. We only had a few happy hour bites since we planned on eating dinner later that night, but the pulled pork tacos and sweet potato fries were really delicious. If you're in Ojai looking for a nice ambiance, I'd recommend going here for a date night or girls weekend for dinner.

Explore Meditation Mount

It was nearly sunset when we finished our afternoon snack, and I asked the waiter if it was worth going to a place called Meditation Mount, I had read about it on Trip Advisor. He replied with a very enthusiastic yes! We drove 4 miles to take in the view from the meditation gardens, which open to the public until sunset. It's a truly quiet, beautiful place up above the valley with space to sit and meditate in silence. We stayed to browse the gardens and take in the view. All in all, it was a great day in Ojai!