PARAMOUNT RANCH HIKE DISTANCE: 2.5 miles Roundtrip
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TRAIL HIGHLIGHTS |

In 1923, Paramount Pictures began leasing a large tract of land belonging to the Rancho Las Virgenes in the Santa Monica Mountains for exterior locations on their movies. As the studio's film output increased over the next several years, particularly in the Western genre, Paramount made the decision to purchase 2,700 acres of the ranch in 1927. Over the next 2.5 decades, 150 feature films were shot here with the wide range of landscapes featuring mountains, rolling hills, oak savannas and creeks providing numerous possibilities to recreate locales from around the world. These included ancient China (The Adventures of Marco Polo, 1938), the South Seas (Ebb Tide, 1937, The Island of Lost Souls, 1932), the American Midwest (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, 1938) and North Africa (Beau Geste, 1939).
With the change in the studio system following WWII, Paramount broke the ranch up bit by bit and sold the land in a number of smaller parcels. William Hertz purchased 336 acres in the southeast corner and built a western town utilizing Paramounts old prop storage sheds and filming continued in the area. Hertz' involvement with the ranch was short-lived however, as he sold the ranch after just a few years. The next major development for the ranch came with the construction of a race track on the outer edge of the oak savanna. The Paramount Racetrack, designed by race car drivers Ken Miles and Dick Vanloren, held its premiere event in 1956. Covering just under 2 miles of twisting asphalt over the rippled Agouran hills, the track was considered to be one of the most challenging in the US and was one of the first purpose-built race car tracks in the western US. There were few guard rails and no fencing or other protective barriers between the racers and the spectators, a design flaw that would ultimately lead to the demise of the race track.
With the change in the studio system following WWII, Paramount broke the ranch up bit by bit and sold the land in a number of smaller parcels. William Hertz purchased 336 acres in the southeast corner and built a western town utilizing Paramounts old prop storage sheds and filming continued in the area. Hertz' involvement with the ranch was short-lived however, as he sold the ranch after just a few years. The next major development for the ranch came with the construction of a race track on the outer edge of the oak savanna. The Paramount Racetrack, designed by race car drivers Ken Miles and Dick Vanloren, held its premiere event in 1956. Covering just under 2 miles of twisting asphalt over the rippled Agouran hills, the track was considered to be one of the most challenging in the US and was one of the first purpose-built race car tracks in the western US. There were few guard rails and no fencing or other protective barriers between the racers and the spectators, a design flaw that would ultimately lead to the demise of the race track.

On the final weekend of racing in the track's second season, 2 drivers were killed and a third badly injured in 3 separate incidents. The impact of these multiple tragedies in such a short time span sent shockwaves through the racing community, and the popularity of the Paramount Racetrack fell to such an extent that all future events were cancelled and the facility shuttered. The racetrack lives on in several films that were filmed during the 18 months of its operation, most notably The Devil's Hairpin (1957). Today there are only remnants of the track winding through the park, used primarily by maintenance vehicles.
The property changed hands several more times over the following decades until the National Park Service acquired it 1980, preserving the land much as Paramount first found it in 1923. The park service has also preserved a small western town at the front entrance that is still used for shooting to this day. The town features a general store, sheriff's office, saloon and hotel among other buildings and is probably most familiar to TV viewers as the home of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. The town has also been featured in the 2001 season finale of The X Files and on HBO's Carnivale.
Other than the Old Western Town, the park service has removed all other outbuildings from the park, allowing it to return to a more natural state, but the many trails and landmarks feature names linking them to their cinematic history. The trail presented here is a 2.5 mile loop trail combining several smaller trails that will take you from the Old Western Town around the perimeter of the valley oak savanna and back. Along the way, you will pass the Medicine Woman Bridge, the Witches' Wood, the Backdrop Trail, the Bwana Trail, Marco Polo Hill and a small portion of the Paramount Racetrack.
The property changed hands several more times over the following decades until the National Park Service acquired it 1980, preserving the land much as Paramount first found it in 1923. The park service has also preserved a small western town at the front entrance that is still used for shooting to this day. The town features a general store, sheriff's office, saloon and hotel among other buildings and is probably most familiar to TV viewers as the home of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. The town has also been featured in the 2001 season finale of The X Files and on HBO's Carnivale.
Other than the Old Western Town, the park service has removed all other outbuildings from the park, allowing it to return to a more natural state, but the many trails and landmarks feature names linking them to their cinematic history. The trail presented here is a 2.5 mile loop trail combining several smaller trails that will take you from the Old Western Town around the perimeter of the valley oak savanna and back. Along the way, you will pass the Medicine Woman Bridge, the Witches' Wood, the Backdrop Trail, the Bwana Trail, Marco Polo Hill and a small portion of the Paramount Racetrack.
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Directions to Trailhead
Parmount Ranch Road
2903 Cornell Road Agoura Hills, CA 91301 Trailhead Coordinates: 34.115847, -118.757045 Head west on the 101. Take Exit 36 Kanan Road in Agoura Hills, CA. Turn left onto Kanan Road and proceed south for .5 miles. Turn left onto Cornell Road and continue south for another 2.5 miles. Turn right into the parking lot for Paramount Ranch and park in the large dirt parking area opposite the park headquarters. There is no parking fee to visit the Paramount Ranch. Gates open at 8 AM and close at sundown. |
Paramount Ranch Trail Guide![]() Parking
Park in the dirt lot across from the Park Headquarters. ![]() Park Headquarters
The park headquarters are located across the road from the parking area. Here you will find information, trail maps and activity times for events in the park. ![]() Rest Rooms
Rest rooms are located in the small building adjacent to the park headquarters. ![]() Water Fountain
A water fountain is located at the rest rooms near the park headquarters. Two additional water fountains are located in the Old Western Town. The first is by the fence as you first enter the town, and the second is located behind the Sheriff's Office. ![]() Trailhead
The trail begins on the Coyote Trail located just behind and to the right of the train station. On this portion of the trail you will be surrounded by dense chaparral mixed with some Valley Oak. ![]() Trail Junction 1: Hacienda Trail
At roughly .5 miles, the Coyote Trail merges with the Hacienda Trail, named for an old ranch house used as a set piece for numerous films. The chaparral will begin to thin out and climb the hillside to your left, while on the right you get your first views of the rolling hills of the Valley Oak Savanna. Continue about .25 miles on the Hacienda Trail to reach the next Trail Junction. ![]() Trail Junction 2: Medicine Woman Trail
Cross the bridge and turn left onto Medicine Woman Trail. This section of the trail is short as you skirt just inside the perimeter of the savannah with some excellent views to the northwest. The trail is named for the TV show Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman that filmed in the Old Western Town and on the hills of the savannah. Continue for just over .1 mile to the next Trail Junction and the Witches' Wood. ![]() The Valley Oak Savanna
The savanna is a lightly forested grassland of rolling hills dotted with California Coast Live Oak. The hills are blanketed with a mixture of grasses and tarweed, which blooms a brilliant yellow in the late spring and early summer months. The waving grass you see here today is mostly non-native wild oats. ![]() Witches' Wood
As the Medicine Woman trail leads back into the trees, you will pass through the Witches' Wood. This was the site where fortune tellers, gypsies and other practitioners of the dark arts told the fortunes of those willing to pay a price during the Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire that played here in the 60s and 70s. Continue up the slight hill to the Trail Junction with the Backdrop Trail. ![]() Trail Junction 3: The Backdrop Trail
The longest stretch of the interconnected trails forming the loop around Paramount Ranch, the Backdrop Trail is so named for the stunning backgrounds looking southeasterly across the savanna. The trail weaves in out of the trees with some fantastic views of Sugar Loaf Peak rising above the Savannah. Continue for .9 miles to the next trail junction. ![]() Trail Junction 6: Bwana Trail
The Bwana Trail takes you across the savanna. The trail is named for the 1952 United Artists Release Bwana Devil starring Robert Stack. The hills along this section of the trail stood in for the plains of Africa. Portions of the film were shot in Africa, and this stateside location blends seamlessly in the movie. ![]() Marco Polo Hill
As you make your way along the Bwana Trail, you will pass a hilltop with several oak trees clustered at the top. This is Marco Polo Hill and was used as a stand-in for ancient China in Samuel Goldwyn Pictures The Adventures of Marco Polo starring Gary Cooper. It should be noted this location is not depicted correctly on the park service map. ![]() Trail Junction 5: Medicine Woman Trail
The Bwana Trail connects with a southern portion of the Medicine Woman Trail, which crosses over a small hill with some fine views of the savanna. Continue for 642' to the next trail junction. ![]() Trail Junction 6: Paramount Ranch Road
The Medicine Woman Trail ends at a bit of aging pavement. Now called Paramount Ranch Road, these are the remnants of the Paramount Racetrack that existed here for a brief time. Considered one of the most challenging tracks in the US, the track had no guard rails on its banked turns and 3 drivers lost their lives in short succession. As a result, the track closed after only 18 months. In its brief existence, the track did find film immortality in the 1957 feature The Devil's Hairpin. Continue for 641' on the Paramount Ranch Road and around one of the banked curves to return to the trailhead. ![]() End of Trail
Congratulations! You've completed the 2.5 mile loop and taken a walk through cinematic history. If you haven't already, take some time and explore the Old Western Town, home to Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman and HBO's Carnivale among others, before you complete your visit to Paramount Ranch. |
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