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Port Hueneme Events & Activities

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If you are thinking about moving here for the vibrant nightlife, you might be making a mistake. If you like movie theaters, night clubs, and all other activities of a big city you should be prepared to drive to Ventura or Los Angeles. Port Hueneme is a very sleepy town. In fact, it's a great place to sleep. If you are tired of noise and crowds, this could very well be the place for you.

If you are military, Port Hueneme might be a different story, because you have access to an entire walled city with movie theaters, grocery stores, car washes, golf courses, and other fun stuff. But if you are a civilian, invest in a nice plasma screen television and subscribe to Netflix.

Events Calendar

SeaBee Days Highly recommended!
Every June the military lets civilians enter the base and view demonstrations on how SeaBees construct bridges, barracks, and similar structures. The Navy also offers tours of one of their destroyers harbored in the Port, but sign up early or the cub scouts will snatch up all the tickets.

Point Mugu Airshows
At least once a year the Naval Base Ventura County has an airshow of some sort. You can pay to see the airshow on the base or be a cheapskate and try and view it from Arnold Road or one of the other roads that flank the base.

Point Hueneme Beach Festival
Arts, crafts, food served from metal carts -- you know the drill. The festival takes place August 16 - 17 at Port Hueneme Beach. The lighthouse will be open both days 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. for tours.

Things to Do

IN PORT HUENEME

Beaches

Port Hueneme has two basic beaches -- one, that is everything Northwest of the Port (Silver Strand / Hollywood Beach); and the other, that is everything Southeast of the Port (Port Hueneme Beach). All of the beaches are relatively large and underused. A basic rule of thumb is the further North you go, the more expensive things become, the further South, the more wild.

Port Hueneme Lighthouse Tours

Visit a working light house featuring an original fresnel lens crafted in 1897 and still in use today. The original Port Hueneme Lighthouse was built in 1874 and the current one in 1941. The Lighthouse is open the third Saturday of each month from February through October from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and admission is free.

You can also walked the newly constructed "Lighthouse Promenade" from the Port Hueneme Beach/Wharf Plaza to the lighthouse. The paved walkway runs parallel to the port fence along the sea shore for 1/2 mile and offers the visitor nice views of the port, Channel Islands, and lighthouse.

For more information, visit www.huenemelight.org.

Hiking, Biking, Skating

Port Hueneme Beach is currently getting a new cement bike trail. If you hike this beach South past the power plant and Halaco site it gets pretty unkept and wild which is rare for Southern California. There are several spots with protected wildlife signs for the snowy plover and you will find drift wood, ducks, and some small salt flats. The Other Beaches offer more traditional beachcombing experiences.

The Santa Monica Mountains are a short drive away and feature hundreds of miles of hiking trails, mountain lions, and hermits.

The Bubbling Springs Green Belt is a five mile cement path that follows a waterway filled with loud ducks through the middle of Port Hueneme. You can hike, skate, or bike the trail.

Surfing

Every Saturday and Sunday morning locals line up along the beaches in pickup trucks, smoke Marlboros, listen to classic rock, and debate entering the water. Port Hueneme is not known for great waves unless there is a storm or a swell or the Gods are smiling favorably that day.

Get a Tatoo

Perhaps because of its close proximity to multiple Navy bases, Port Hueneme has a large number of tatoo parlors and many residents have been tatooed at one time or another.

Adopt and Raise Feral Cats

Port Hueneme has uncountable numbers of feral cats living around the docks and rocky breakwaters. Cute little newborn kittens can sometimes be found wandering aimlessly around the Port and these are quickly snatched up by residents as family pets. The cats have a distinctive coat that makes them look almost like a squirrel and their half-wild temperament makes sure things are never boring if you adopt one of these gifts from the sea.


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