Camarillo is a delightful complement to the idyllic towns in the Conejo Valley. It’s a little farther from downtown Los Angeles, about 50 miles down the 101 from LA and 10 miles from Thousand Oaks. But it offers wonderful beach weather — cooler than the Conejo by about 10 degrees on average, with typical coastal fog to keep things mellow — with all the amenities of a mid-size town (population over 30,000). If you’re coming north on the 101, you’ll know you’re home when you descend the Camarillo grade — about 2.7 miles long at a seven percent grade, which translates to a nearly 1,000-foot drop in elevation.
If you’re home shopping, you’ll need to know about Mission Oaks — a name given by Pardee Homes to 1,312 acres of land covering the northeastern portion of the city that makes up about 15 percent of Camarillo’s total land. Because construction of homes in this area went on for literally decades, people generally consider all the neighborhoods east of Lewis Road, south of Somis and north of the 101 as part of Mission Oaks, no matter that several developers raised homes in the area.
If you love shopping, you’re in the right neighborhood for you. The Camarillo outlets south of the 101 and west of Carmen Drive make up one of the largest outlet malls in California. The Promenade (220,000 square feet) and the Premium Outlets (454,00 square feet) contain practically every type of retail store you can imagine.