Lake Casitas is Ventura's water reservoir, and is tucked back in the picturesque hills and mountains that rise to the north from the coast. The landscape offers big hillsides and deep valleys (at least several hundred feet of elevation change over the entire course), along with spectacular views of the surrounding region. Plant life exhibits the typical SoCal variety, from beautiful shade trees, to ice plants, to salad weeds, to mowed grass, to chaparral, some mesquite-like shrubbery, etc..
This is the best maintained and equipped 18 hole course I've played thus far. There are up to four basket locations at every hole, and all are well-marked and sighted. Nice picnic tables are situated at every tee (and bonus picnic spots can be found elsewhere around the course). Clean bathrooms are available, and even hot coin-operated showers near tee 15. The tee signs are fantastic: each displays a photograph looking from the tee down the fairway, and lines/arrows are drawn on top of the photos to show the various basket locations and distances. There is no way that you can mistake the position of the basket, even on the first play. The course flow is also very nice, with few long walks between tees (8-9 is probably the longest and most awkward, but the placement of 9 makes it worth it), a front and back 9 loop coming back to the parking area, etc..
Like all truly great courses, there are tight steep downhill throws (hole 5), big downhill tosses (hole 16), medium to long fairways over gently down-sloping terrain (holes 6, 7), medium to long fairways over gently up-sloping terrain (hole 8,12), blind throws (hole 3), holes over (sometimes water hazarded) valleys (hole 1,9), holes into tight corridors or gaps (holes 9,10,11,13,14,17), big uphill shots/climbs (hole 15,18). But I was very impressed with the creativity of the holes at this course. Several holes (e.g., 4 and 10) are very short, but have added challenges. For example, hole 4 is only 150' or so up a bumpy hillside, but it is a right-turning fairway that ducks under a mando low-arching tree branch of a shade tree whose flank is guarded by a 2' tall fierce-looking wooden warrior statue. (I also enjoyed the palm frond art displayed on hole 13.) Hole 15 is probably the most difficult by my assessment, with a grueling, 300'-ish feet slight uphill and then 100'-ish+ feet up a very steep hill into a nice hillside oasis enveloped by a beautiful tree and a shaded old picnic table where we ate lunch. Some of the holes are also more psychologically challenging, such as 14, where a low-hanging tree branch is just in front of the tee but the hole requires a strong uphill left-turning throw. I have played a large variety of courses, but never have I seen the kind of variety on display at Casitas, especially while maintaining a high level of challenge. These aren't gimmicks, they are genius!
There is a small pro shop and camping supply store on the way to the course, though I didn't buy anything. As far as we could tell, alcohol is permitted in the park.