Just northwest of Los Angeles, a working California movie ranch that helped bring alien invasions and roaring 1920s decadence to the screen is quietly looking for its next owner. The property, known as Rancho Temescal, spans roughly 5,600 acres near Lake Piru and has doubled as both a functioning cattle and equestrian operation and a go‑to filming location for major Hollywood productions. If you have ever watched “War of the Worlds” or “Babylon,” you have already toured parts of this landscape without leaving your couch.
Now the ranch is on the market with an asking price in the mid eight figures, positioning it as one of the more unusual listings in Southern California: part legacy agricultural holding, part backlot, part conservation play. For a buyer with the capital and the patience to manage land at this scale, it offers a rare chance to own a piece of film history that is also a living, working enterprise.
The 5,600-acre spread behind the listing
When you look past the movie credits, Rancho Temescal is first and foremost a vast, contiguous landholding in the Topatopa foothills, a mountain range that rises above the Santa Clara River Valley. The ranch is described as a Working 5,600-Acre property, which means you are not just buying scenery, you are taking on a functioning operation with roads, water infrastructure, and grazing systems already in place. Its location in the Topatopa foothill puts you within driving distance of Los Angeles while still feeling removed from the urban grid.
The asking price is reported at $44 million, a figure that reflects both the sheer size of the acreage and the income potential that comes with it. One report notes that the estate is a “Working Acre Ranch Hits the Market” at $44 M, while another describes the same property as asking $44 Million, underscoring how that price has become part of the ranch’s identity. For you as a prospective buyer or simply a curious observer, that number sets the stakes: this is not a speculative land flip, it is a long‑term hold that assumes you value both the land and the story attached to it.
Where Lake Piru, Hollywood, and ranch country meet
Geographically, Rancho Temescal sits in a sweet spot that explains why it has attracted both filmmakers and ranchers. The property lies near Lake Piru, a reservoir tucked into the hills northwest of the San Fernando Valley, and it stretches across canyons, ridgelines, and open meadows that can read on camera as almost anywhere in the American West. At the same time, it is close enough to Los Angeles that production crews can make the trip in a day, which is crucial when you are moving equipment, actors, and support staff…