The Joel McCrea Ranch, preserved by the Conejo Recreation and Park District, offers a glimpse into the life of the famous Hollywood couple, Joel McCrea and Frances Dee, who lived and raised their family there. In the early 1930s, actor Joel McCrea purchased and developed a working ranch in Ventura County’s Santa Rosa Valley.


He and his wife, actress Frances Dee, built their home there and raised their three sons, actively contributing to the local community. By the late 1950s and early 1960s, portions of the ranch were sold for housing, forming much of present-day Thousand Oaks. To preserve the remaining 280 acres after Joel’s passing in 1990, the McCrea family partnered with the Conejo Recreation and Park District in 1995 to facilitate its acquisition.


All ranch buildings are now on the National Register of Historic Places and are being preserved for public access, with a new visitor’s center, completed by the Conejo Recreation and Park District in conjunction with the McCrea family, open during scheduled events and programs.


The ranch is a rare example of a working cattle ranch and grain fields from the Santa Rosa and Conejo valleys. It’s also a place of natural beauty, with a deep canyon, rocky outcrops, and sensitive resources.