The Paramount Ranch 

          2903 Cornell Rd, Agoura Hills, 91301              

The Paramount Ranch located in the scenic Agoura Hills has something to offer for all who go.  It has the majestic Santa Monica Mountains for nature lovers, hiking trails for adventure seekers, and an “Old Western town” movie set for film followers and children alike. The ranch has a long and interesting history.  

In 1927 Paramount Pictures purchased 2,400 acres for use as a "movie ranch." After World War II the studio sold the property where parcels were sold to private investors. In 1952 Bill Hertz bought 326 acres that still bear the Paramount name, where he turned the land into a western town. In 1980 the National Park Service purchased the land and revitalized the old movie ranch.

For 25 years, a "Who's Who" of Hollywood practiced their craft at Paramount Ranch including director Cecil B. Demille and actors Bob Hope, Gary Cooper and Claudette Colbert. The diverse landscape was the real star of the show. It offered film makers the freedom to create distant locales such as colonial Massachusetts in The Maid of Salem (1937), 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.