Can You Visit the Real Places Where ‘Bonanza’ Was Filmed?

BONANZA, from left: Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Pernell Roberts, 1960, 1959-1973 — Gene Trindl/TV Guide/Everett Collection

For 14 seasons, Bonanza brought the Cartwright family and their sprawling Ponderosa Ranch into American living rooms. While the show’s stories may have been fictional, many of its filming locations were very real, and some of them can still be visited today.

If you’ve ever dreamed of stepping into the same landscapes that Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe once rode through, you can still find pieces of that world. Here are a few you can still visit, along with details about one set that has since burned down.

Lake Hemet & Idyllwild

One of the show’s earliest filming spots was Lake Hemet and the surrounding Idyllwild area in California’s San Jacinto Mountains. The wide-open spaces and tall pines gave the series the perfect Western backdrop, and those same trails are open today for anyone looking to hike, camp, or simply take in the scenery.

Wildwood Regional Park

BONANZA, Michael Landon, Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker, 1959-1973

Everett Collection

Another popular location was Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks, California. Back in the day, the land was a ranch often used for Hollywood Westerns, but now it’s a regional park with miles of hiking trails. Fans of Bonanza can walk through the same hills where some of their favorite outdoor scenes were filmed, all while enjoying the California sunshine.

Lake Tahoe

Of course, no location is as closely tied to the show as Lake Tahoe. It was here that the Ponderosa Ranch became a real tourist attraction, complete with replica sets and Western-style entertainment. The theme park eventually closed in 2004, and the land was sold, but the sweeping mountain views that framed so many episodes are still there. A drive along the lake will give you the same views.

Cedar Lake

There’s also Cedar Lake, near Big Bear in the San Bernardino Mountains. Its mill house and water wheel appeared in several episodes, adding a rustic touch to the Cartwrights’ adventures. Cedar Lake is now part of a private retreat center, but the surrounding area is open to visitors and still carries the same old-time Western feel.

Not all of the show’s history has survived. For years, the Virginia City set that appeared on screen was located on the Paramount Studios backlot in Hollywood. It stood alongside other Western town sets and became familiar to anyone who watched TV in the 1960s. But in 1970, a fire swept through and destroyed much of that set, leaving only memories and a shift in where Bonanza would film its town scenes.