![]()
When Paramount Pictures leased the ranch in 1927, they began an era of film production that continues today. You can experience the area where Bob Hope starred in “Caught in the Draft” (1941) and Jane Seymour had the leading role in “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” (1993-1998). In the 1950s, Western Town was created for television shows, such as “The Cisco Kid” (1950-1956). More recent productions at Paramount include HBO’s “Westworld” (2016-2017) and “American Sniper” (2014). Film History – The Paramount Pictures EraWhen Paramount Pictures leased the ranch in 1923, they began a historic era of film production. You can experience the area where Claudette Colbert was sentenced as a witch in 1692 Massachusetts in Maid of Salem (1937). Bob Hope played the part of a vain movie star whose biggest fear is to be drafted into the U.S. Army in Caught in the Draft (1941). A veritable "who's who" of Hollywood practiced their craft here for almost a century. From actors Gary Cooper, W.C. Fields, Marlene Dietrich, and many more! The diverse landscape, however, was the real star of the show. It offered filmmakers the freedom to create distant locales such as colonial Massachusetts to ancient China in The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938), a South Seas island in Ebb Tide (1937), and numerous western locations, including San Francisco in Wells Fargo (1937). The art of illusion was mastered on the landscape. The golden era of moviemaking at Paramount Ranch came to an end when changes to the studio system prompted Paramount Pictures to sell the ranch. Paramount Ranch found renewed life as a film location when William Hertz bought the southeast portion in 1953. Hertz Era Western TownAn ardent fan of movie westerns, Hertz built a permanent western town utilizing Paramount Pictures' old prop storage sheds. As a result, television companies began shooting westerns at the ranch, such as The Cisco Kid and Bat Masterson. William Hertz sold the property in 1955 to three businessmen investors who renamed it the Paramount Sportsman's Ranch. The Paramount Raceway opened a year later. Some considered it one of the most challenging in the U.S., and it closed 18 months later after two fatal crashes occurred in December of 1957. The raceway was featured in The Devil's Hairpin (1957) and Disney's The Love Bug (1968). Most of the track still winds through the grass and oak woodlands of the park. From 1957 to 1980, the ranch would see more ownership changes, but filmmaking continued. National Park Service Purchases Paramount RanchAfter purchasing a portion of the original Paramount property in 1980, the National Park Service revitalized the old movie ranch. In the early 1990s, Jane Seymour and Joe Lando captured hearts in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993-1998), a television show that used Paramount Ranch as their permanent, everyday set. Members of the public would often camp out for the day and watch the show get created in real-time! More recent productions at Paramount include The Lake House (2006) starring Sandra Bullock, HBO's Westworld (2016-2017), and American Sniper (2014). Find a complete list of films and T.V. shows filmed here, linked below. In November 2018, the Woolsey Fire swept through the area. It destroyed much of what was known as Western Town, a real-life Hollywood-adjacent motion picture set. The train depot used in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman series and the chapel used in HBO's "Westworld" remains. The site is currently being reimagined. Exciting plans are underway to remake the only location in the National Park Service dedicated to the ongoing creation of movies and television shows. Visiting the Paramount Ranch Western TownCross the bridge to get to the chapel used in HBO's "Westworld," It will be on your left. The only other building that still stands on the former Hertz Era Western Town site is the train depot that was used in the T.V. show Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. All trailheads extend from this area, except the trail that goes toward Mulholland highway. Movie List With Paramount Ranch As A Location Theatrical Releases and Made for Video
*Denotes Xtles made for direct Video, DVD or Blu Ray release. Includes some that had brief theatrical, fesXval or special screenings & some intended for theatrical release for which that didn’t happen. **DocumentaXon indicates Paramount Ranch filmed scenes were cut from movie. ***Last movie to film in the Western town before the November 2018 Woolsey Fire. Documentation sources: Production Files, Photographs, Photo Captions, Press books, Industry Publications, National Park Service records and viewing the films. This list is not all-inclusive, as ongoing research continues to uncover unknown titles. Updated Nov. 2021 TV Shows, Made for TV Movies, Mini-Series and Internet/Streaming Programs
With Paramount Ranch as a Filming Location 1950’s The Cisco Kid – “Witness”, “School Marm” (17 episodes total, all Season 6) The Rough Riders – “The Reluctant Hostage” Hotel de Paree* (As Georgetown, CO - porJons of all episodes) Gunsmoke – “Box O’ Rocks” (No town) 1960’s Tombstone Territory – “The Injury” Klondike* (As Skagway, Alaska - Episodes 2-17) Bat Masterson – “The PrescoW Campaign”, “MeeJng at Mimbres”, “The Marble Slab” The FugiJve – “Home is the Hunted” (Racetrack) Perry Mason – “The Case of the Runaway Racer” (Racetrack) Mannix – “Huntdown” (No town) 1970’s Call O’ the Faire (Renaissance Faire Promo Special) Ark II – “The Cryogenic Man” (Town), “Robin Hood”, “Don Quixote (Renaissance Faire site, both) Helter Skelter (TV Mini-Series) The Starland Vocal Band Show – Episodes 1 & 4 (Renaissance Faire featured) The Next Step Beyond – “Ghost Town” Happy Days – “Westward Ho!” Parts 2 & 3 BeWer Late Than Never (TV Movie) CHIPS – “Death Watch”, “Moonlight”, “Satan’s Angels” 1980’s BJ & the Bear – “Fire in the Hole” Charlie’s Angels – “An Angel’s Trail” The Dukes of Hazzard – “The Late J.D. Hogg” (Racetrack) Best of the West* (As Copper Creek, Montana) The Fall Guy – “Colt’s Angels”, “The Silent Partner” (5 episodes total) The Quest – “He Stole-A My Art” (No town) CHIPS – “The Spaceman Made Me Do It” (No town) Falling for the Stars (Disney Channel TV Special) Johnny Cash: Cowboy Heroes (TV Special) Bizarre (Several Super Dave Osborne skits) No Man’s Land (TV Movie) The Fourth Wise Man (TV Movie – Jerusalem, Bethlehem & Egypt streets) Two on the Town The A-Team – “The Sheriffs of Rivertown”, “Mission of Peace”, “The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair” (6 episodes total) Hardcastle & McCormick – “Too Rich and Too Thin” (No town) Airwolf – “LiWle Wolf”, “And A Child Shall Lead” (No town) MacGyver – “Three on the Run” Falcon Crest (MulJple episodes; No town) Unsolved Mysteries (MulJple episodes) Sledge Hammer – “They Shoot Hammers, Don’t They?” Reading Rainbow – “RumpelsJltskin” (Renaissance Faire) Mathnet – “The Case of the Map with a Gap” Out of This World – “Go West, Young Mayor” Shelley Duvall’s Nightmare Classics - “Eyes of the Panther” Comic Relief (TV Special) Our Gang Special (TBS SuperStaJon TV Special) The UlJmate Stuntman: A Tribute to Dar Robinson - (TV Special) Caddie Woodlawn (TV Movie) 1990’s Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman* (Series home 1992-1998, as Colorado Springs, CO) California (Unaired Dr. Quinn Spinoff Pilot) The Nanny – “The Unkindest Gin” Rebecca’s Garden Entertainment Tonight Extra Access Hollywood CNN Showbiz Tonight 100 Years of the Hollywood Western (TV Special) CBS: The First 50 Years (TV Special) Hollywood’s Amazing Animal Actors (TV Special) Salute to Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (TV Special) Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: RevoluJons (TV Movie) If Someone Had Known (TV Movie) Lifestyle Magazine Thanksgiving Special (TV Special) The Real West (MulJple episodes) Civil War Journal (MulJple episodes) Unsolved Mysteries (MulJple episodes) The Great Empire - Rome Sliders - “Way Out West” (No town) Tots TV - “The Tots Western Adventure” (BriJsh Children’s Series) Tales of the Gun – “The Gunslingers”, “The Shotgun” E! Mysteries & Scandals (Several stories) Cousin Skeeter – “The Hoo, I’m Wild Wild West”, Parts 1 & 2 History’s Mysteries – “Discharged Without Honor: The Brownsville Raid” Grand Slam Camp Cucamonga (TV Movie) The SixJes (TV Mini-Series) Everything You Wanted to Know… (TV Pilot) 2000-2009 Diagnosis Murder – “FronJer Dad” Diagnosis Murder: The Town Without Pity (TV Movie) Sabrina, the Teenaged Witch – “The Wild, Wild Witch” Modern Marvels: Then and Now – “Gunslingers” Dream Drives – “Mulholland Drive” Hopalong Cassidy: Public Hero #1 (TV Special) Escape: True Stories of Suspense (TV Special) A Woman’s a Helluva Thing (TV Movie) The X Files – “Existence”, Part 2 VIP – “The Uncle from V.A.L.” Masada VendeWas – “SuWon vs. Taylor”, “The Johnson County War” Yes, Dear – “Dances with Couch” Before We Ruled the Earth: Hunt UlJmate Revenge “Western Mayhem” OperaJon Junkyard – “Master Water Blaster” Lizzie McGuire – “Grubby Longjohn’s Olde Tyme Revue” Firefly – “Safe” Carnivale* (HBO) (MulJple episodes, as Mintern, CA) John Ratzenberger’s Made in America (Story intro’s -Season 1 episodes) Love Comes Sonly (TV Movie) The Trail to Hope Rose (TV Movie) Love’s Enduring Promise (TV Movie) Hidden Places (TV Movie) Meet the Santa’s (TV Movie) For BeWer or for Worse – “Hitched at High Noon” NaJonal Parks: Great Train Rides Unsolved History – “Shootout at the OK Corral” TV Road Trip (1 episode) Wild West Tech (MulJple episodes) Movies’ Greatest Cars (BriJsh TV Special) Jesse James: Legend, Outlaw, Terrorist Shootout! – “Wild West” Big Love – “Affair” Bible BaWles Secret History of Religion Unlocking Ancient Secrets of the Bible The Conquerors – “Cortez: Conqueror of Mexico” CBS News Sunday Morning – Eric Clapton interview Love’s Unending Legacy (TV Movie) Love’s Unfolding Dream (TV Movie) Lilly’s Light (Pilot for Children’s Show) Prairie Fever (TV Movie) The Valley of Light (TV Movie) Rock of Love with Bret Michaels – “Riff it Good” The Bachelor The BacheloreWe – Season 5, Episode 3 The O.C. – “The Avengers” (No town) GeWysburg: The Speech that Saved America (No town) Tube Tales: TV’s Real Stories (Canadian TV) “Baywatch/Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman/Murphy Brown” 2010-2019 Huell Howser California’s Golden Parks – “Paramount Ranch” Weeds – “Gentle Puppies” CSI: Las Vegas – “CSI Down” Excused The Aquabats! Supershow! – “Cowboy Android” Smokewood (TV Pilot) Deadliest Warrior – “Comanche vs. Mongol” Paul Merton’s Birth of Hollywood, Episode 3 (BBC) Custer’s Last Man: I Survived LiWle Big Horn How Booze Built America – “Westward, Ho” Quick Draw* (Hulu Series) (As Great Bend, KS, all episodes & Nicodemus, two episodes) Hotel Secrets & Legends (MulJple episodes) Castle – “Once Upon a Time in the West” Next Stop Hollywood (Australian TV) Episodes (No town) “Episode Six” Sons of Anarchy – “Poor LiWle Lambs” (No town) Funny or Die (Internet) – “Dr. Quinn, Morphine Woman” Scorpion – “Once BiWen, Twice Die” Kidnapped: The Hannah Anderson Story (TV Movie) (No town) Face Off – “Full Steam Ahead” Bones – “The Cowboy in the Contest” Drunk History (MulJple episodes, Seasons 3 & 5) RocketJump: The Show – (Hulu) “High Plains Driner” Manson’s Lost Girls (TV Movie) ExpediJon Unknown – “Legendary Stories: The Real Lewis & Clark” Aquarius (Final 4 episodes of Season 2) Adam Ruins Everything – “Adam Ruins the Wild West” Declassified (CNN) (2 episodes) Westworld** (HBO series) – MulJple episodes - Seasons 1, 2 & 3 Escape the Night* (Season 3) (YouTube Series) Badland Wives – (Demo Reel for Proposed Series) Lost Gold (Travel Channel) The Great Food Truck Race (2 Episodes, Season 9) Hell’s Kitchen – “Hell’s Riders”, S18-Ep3 SMILF – “Single Mom is Losing Faith” S2-Ep9 Eye on LA (MulJple stories about the ranch) 2020-2029 Everything’s Gonna to be OK – “Banded Argiope Spider” *The Paramount Ranch Western town set was the main featured town in these series. For Hotel de Paree, Klondike & Best of the West – exterior scenes; Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Carnivale, Quick Draw & Escape the Night made use of both exterior and interior spaces. **Scenes for the town of Escalante and addiJonal scenes in open landscape areas were filmed at Paramount Ranch for Westworld. TV producJons that used Paramount Ranch have filmed everything from just brief scenes to enJre episodes to mulJple episodes. Many used the town, but many only used the open landscape around the ranch. (Episodes on this list used the town, except where otherwise noted.) See the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) for more detailed episode informaJon for all listed shows. DocumentaJon here comes from NaJonal Park Service filming records (1981 to present), from viewing the shows and from photographs. This list is not all inclusive, as ongoing research conJnues to reveal unknown titles. Last Updated February Activities
Directions 2903 Cornell Road, Agoura Hills, CA, 91301 GPS Coordinates: N 34.1181 W -118.7525 Take Ventura Freeway (U.S. 101) to Kanan Road exit. South on Kanan 0.5 mile. Left on Cornell Way and veer to the right. South 2.5 miles, entrance is on right side of the road. Good to Know
![]() ![]() | ||||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
Last updated: January 20, 2023