We recently went to Ojai for a photoshoot featuring our Yoga Collection. Truthfully, we thought we’d spend most of the day focused on the sandals. Instead, we spent a good portion of it saying things like, “Wait, should we go in there?” and “Ohh right, this is why people love California.”
Only Ojai could take our attention away from the Yoga Collection.
It’s one of those towns where every storefront feels like it’s supposed to be there, every street seems lined with trees, and every walk somehow ends up being longer than you planned.
So we decided to put together a little guide so you can experience Ojai the way we did. (In a pair of sandals from our Yoga Collection.) Slip them on and spend the day wandering one of California’s prettiest small towns. Besides, in a place where crystal shops outnumber stoplights, a yoga-inspired sandal feels right at home.
BREAKFAST FIRST. EVERYTHING ELSE LATER.
📍Rory’s Other Place
Every town has a coffee shop. But this is not every town’s coffee shop.
Part cafe, part lunch spot, part boutique marketplace. Rory’s has quite possibly everything you could need (or at least want really, really bad).
We grabbed breakfast, coffee, and a Matcha Affogato, which is a must get when you visit if you are like everyone else under the age of 30 and are obsessed with matcha.
THE BEST PART OF OJAI IS WALKING THROUGH IT
One thing becomes clear pretty quickly: Ojai is exceptionally walkable.
You can wander from coffee shops to bookstores to parks without ever having to hoof it across a six-lane highway—a fantasy of every Los Angelino.
Along the way we passed Hotel El Roblar, where a lineup of rental bikes sat waiting out front. It seems that on every corner, Ojai sends another invitation to further experience the town.
📍LIBBEY PARK
If only we were kids again.
Libbey Park might have the single best playground this side of the Rio Grande. Climbing walls, monkey bars, twisting slides—and everything designed with an architectural eye. For our readers with young ones, this is a must hit.
Outside the playground, the trees are enormous. The mountain views stamped in the background. And if you’re a theater aficionado, the Libbey Bowl offers great outdoor acoustics.
📍BART’S BOOKS
There are bookstores. Then there are bookstores people accidentally build afternoons around.
Bart’s Books falls firmly into the second category.
Outdoor shelves. Hidden corners. Benches tucked beneath trees. Books everywhere.
Even if you’re not a reader, it’s hard not to fall under its spell.
ONE LAST DETOUR
On the drive home, we made a quick stop in Downtown Ventura.
First came Rumfish, where an Aperol Spritz tasted particularly well-earned after a day of wandering.
Then we stopped into Brooklyn Charm and built personalized anklets.
There’s something satisfying about making your own souvenir. Anyone can buy a keychain. An anklet says, “I was here, and I had nowhere important to be.”
WHAT WE WORE
The funny thing about Ojai is that nothing on paper seems very strenuous. You grab coffee. Walk a little. Browse a bookstore. Sit in a park. Then somehow you’ve been on your feet all day.
That’s where our Yoga sandals come in.
The yoga mat footbed stays comfortable from your first coffee to your last spritz, which is exactly what you want from a sandal.
Because Ojai gives you enough beautiful things to think about already.
Your feet don’t need to be one of them.