Movie Sets

Rancho Maria & Sable Ranch

Rancho Maria & Sable Ranch:
Both locations share about a mile of a continuous boundary and then branch out into individual majestic canyons with trails.

Surrounding the two ranches on three sides is the Angeles National Forest, with its forbidding steep mountains and canyons, giving the ranches unequaled seclusion and privacy, unhampered by smog or coastal fog.

With their combined 400 acres of beautiful grassy meadows and canyons dotted with centuries-old oak trees, the Ranches offer unique opportunities for location filming within Los Angeles County only 30 minutes from Hollywood and major film studios.

There are two large water reservoirs, a vintage two-story ranch house, a chicken coop, a majestic big red barn with attached paddock containing always-green grass, a hacienda with a full-length covered porch, corrals, irrigated pastures, and a green screen facility.

There is a stationary four-car train sitting next to a train depot. There are several in-ground tanks that have been used recently by such shows at Wipeout and Holey Moley.

Sable Ranch was built in the 1920s by Frank Sentous. In 1940 the property was purchased by Ralph Wagner. Rancho Maria has had several names over the years including “Riley” and “Brooks” Ranch. The current name is said to refer to the time when it was used to raise chickens with the ads referring to the chickens as “smooth as sable”.(Schneider Press, 2011).

The brochure below is the original and most historical first version printed in the 1970s. Frank purchased the two contiguous ranches known today as Rancho Maria and Sable Ranch and started using the property as one 400-acre movie ranch.

Rancho Maria and Sable Ranch are popularly known for being a western ranch and revered as a prime location for several well-known television competition reality shows, a major motion picture, and several half-hours scripted productions filmed entirely at the Ranch. It is also used frequently for commercials.

Much has changed since the Ranches began to be used as a movie ranch. There are many new movie sets, lakes, buildings, and facilities. Contact us to set up a scout or for more images.

Front

Back

2021

Billie Eilish – Happier Than Ever Music Video: Check out Billie’s creative process behind the scenes of the “Happier Than Ever” music video. Learn more at http://BilliexAdobe.com | Watch the Official Music Video

MIRACLE WORKERS Oregon Trail (TV Series 2019–2021) Set in 1844, “Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail” follows a small-town preacher (Radcliffe) who teams up with a wanted outlaw (Buscemi) and an adventurous prairie wife (Viswanathan) to lead a wagon train across the perilous Oregon Trail.

2020

Bless This Mess (TV Series 2019–2020) released on April 16, 2019, Lake Bell, Dax Shepard, Pam Grier, Ed Begley Jr., JT Neal, and more! Newlyweds Rio and Mike make the decision to change the course of their life together and move from the relentless pace of big city New York to what they think will be a more relaxed existence in rural Nebraska. After dropping everything –including their jobs and an overbearing mother-in-law — to make the move from skyscrapers to farmhouses, they soon realize that the simpler life isn’t as easy as they had planned. Rio and Mike must now learn how to weather the storm as they are faced with unexpected challenges in their new lives as farmers.

“The Call of The Wild” was released on Feb. 21, 2020, stars Harrison Ford, Dan Stevens, Omar Sky, and Karen Gillan. The film was shot on location for more than a month at The Sable Ranch and Rancho Maria in Sand Canyon.

The crew was able to “install long-term solar-powered generators, electric vehicle charging stations for crew use, and Ecoluxe Solar Trailers.” The call of the wild sets remains on the property to be reused for future projects avoiding tons of landfill waste!

Fun fact: “Single-use plastic water bottles were banned at each of the film’s six filming locations in favor of refillable ones”.
(NEWSROOM: 21st Century Fox)

2019

Firefly (TV Series 2019–2020) released on September 20, 2002, which stars Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk. Set 500 years in the future after a universal civil war, the crew of a small transport spaceship takes any job so long as it puts food on the table. The disparate men and women just want to survive and maybe have better lives, but they face constant challenges on the new frontier, such as the Reavers — flesh-eating mongrels who live on the fringes of the universe.

Much Earlier Films

“Ride ‘Em Cowboy” released on Feb. 13, 1942, stars Lou Costello, Bud Abbott, Anne Gwynne, Johnny Mack Brown, and crooner Dick Foran. Accompanied by the Merry Macs, Ella Fitzgerald shows up twice to sing two songs (“A-Tisket, A-Tasket” and “Rockin’ and Reelin'”). The film was shot on location at The Sable Ranch and Rancho Maria in Sand Canyon for what was called the “Lazy S Ranch” in the film.

Other Productions:

Lonestar 9-1-1, Criminal Minds, NCIS, Seal Team, Station 19.

  • There are several separate parking facilities for hundreds of cars to take on any size project.
  • Basecamp/parking areas available for up to 200 cars.
  • Paddocks available for animals.
  • Two helicopter pads available.
  • 24/7 access to the Ranch as the front gate is always staffed.
  • Union productions welcome. All filming requires insurance and film permits.
Visit out FAQ's page