There are some things that just belong to a Ventura County summer. The smell of sunscreen at the beach. The drive up the 23 with the hills still golden. And Conejo Valley Days — that unmistakable cluster of lights and music rising up from Conejo Creek Park South every June, pulling in families, old friends, and first-timers alike.
This year marks the 70th Annual Conejo Valley Days, running June 24 through 28 at Conejo Creek Park South on Janss Road in Thousand Oaks. Seventy years. Think about that for a second. There are grandparents in this valley who rode the same carnival rides their grandkids will ride this month. That kind of staying power doesn’t happen by accident — it happens because CVD genuinely delivers, year after year, something that feels like community rather than just an event.
Weeknight hours run Wednesday and Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m., Friday from 5 to 11 p.m., Saturday from 1 to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 9 p.m. If you’ve got kids, Saturday afternoon is the sweet spot — long enough to do everything twice, light enough that nobody melts down on the drive home. If you’re going adult-style, Friday night until 11 is its own kind of magic.
Admission is $10 for ages 10 and up, $5 for kids ages 5 to 9, and free for children under 5. Active duty military get in free with a current military ID. Parking on-site runs $5 and is cash only. Plan ahead — the lot fills fast on weekends.
The midway runs the full range, from extreme thrills to gentle carousel horses for little adventurers. The lineup includes the Hyper Loop, Gondola Ferris Wheel, Super Shot Drop Tower, Starship, YO YO, Zipper, Sizzler, Fun House, Carousel, Scooter, Pirate Island, Orient Express, Bear Affair, Motorcycles, Super Slide, Red Baron, Train, and Swings. That’s not a list — that’s a whole evening. Come hungry for it.
Carnival ride tickets can be purchased on-site as singles for $1 each, with sheets available at 24 tickets for $20 or 40 tickets for $30. Worth doing the math ahead of time if you’ve got competitive kids who won’t leave until they’ve conquered every ride on the midway.
Here’s where CVD keeps things refreshingly unpretentious. The entertainment lineup centers on high-energy DJ sessions spinning pop, hip-hop, and dance classics, plus line dancing with instructors who walk you through every step — whether you’re a first-timer or a seasoned two-stepper. It sounds simple, and it is, which is exactly the point. The dance floor fills up fast. People who swore they wouldn’t dance always do.
One of CVD’s best-kept secrets is also one of its most generous traditions. Kids in grades K through 12 who read three books between May and June 23rd can earn free carnival ride tickets through the Read & Ride program. Students fill out a form listing their books and summaries, get signatures from a parent and teacher or school librarian, and bring it to the Kastl Amusements Information Booth inside CVD to receive tickets good for any three rides. Participating PTAs also receive a $50 donation from CVD. It’s a small thing that says a lot about what this event actually values.
Conejo Valley Days is more than a carnival — it’s a community tradition that brings people together year after year. Over 25 local nonprofits participate annually, and for many of them CVD is their biggest fundraiser of the year. When you buy a funnel cake or line up for the Zipper, some of that goes back to organizations doing real work in this valley. That’s not a bad thing to know.
So go. Bring your kids, your parents, your neighbors you’ve been meaning to catch up with. Get a corn dog. Lose badly at a ring toss game. Let someone drag you onto the line dancing floor. Seventy years in, CVD is still doing exactly what it set out to do — and it shows.
Conejo Valley Days runs June 24–28, 2026 at Conejo Creek Park South, 1350 Janss Road, Thousand Oaks. Full ticketing info at conejovalleydays.us.
