Ray “Crash” Corrigan, a cowboy and actor, purchased what would become the Corriganville movie ranch in 1937 for $11,354. The beautiful, rocky Simi Valley landscape was the setting for the filming of hundreds of movies and TV Westerns in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1949, Corrigan opened the property to the public as a western-themed amusement park. The park featured stuntmen shows, movie lots, a working western town, Indian crafts, stagecoach rides, pony rides, and boating on a lake. It attracted as many as 20,000 people on weekends.
In 1988, 190 acres of land comprising the principal working areas of the original Corriganville Ranch were purchased by the City of Simi Valley for use as a Regional Park. Today, you’ll see remnants of that old Western movie set scattered across the hillsides—crumbling building facades, weathered structures, and movie props that harken back to its Hollywood heyday. Walking through the park feels like wandering through a piece of California film history.
The terrain here is classic Southern California chaparral, with rocky outcrops and sage-covered slopes. The eastern part of the park is part of the Santa Susana Pass wildlife corridor connecting the Simi Hills with the Santa Susana Mountains, making it an important habitat area. Several trails wind through the property, offering decent hiking and dog-friendly exploration of the historic grounds and the natural landscape beyond. Your dog will get a good sense of the varied terrain and the park’s unusual combination of movie ranch memorabilia and undeveloped wilderness. The rocky, hilly nature of the place means you’ll want to bring plenty of water and choose a route that matches your dog’s fitness level, but there’s something distinctive about visiting a spot where so much old Hollywood action took place.
