Named after an apricot, and lit by a nuclear reactor in 1957
The town is named after a variety of apricot that used to grow here, which in turn took its name from Moor Park in Hertfordshire, where the fruit was introduced to England in 1688. There is an apricot flower on the city seal. The map was drawn in November 1900 and the post office approved that August, but incorporation waited until 1 July 1983, so this was farm country with a town on it for eighty three years.
Two pieces of infrastructure shaped it. The Santa Susana rail tunnel, 7,369 feet long, was completed in 1904 and put Moorpark on the line, though the depot closed in 1958. Then on 12 November 1957 Moorpark became the second city in the United States lit by atomic power, from the Sodium Reactor Experiment that ran until 1964. Egg City opened in 1961 as the largest chicken ranch in the country and closed in 1996.
The land still runs the look. Central Moorpark sits in the valley cut by the Arroyo Simi, with flatland and mesas at the base of the hills, 12.46 square miles at 515 feet. Kings Row shot at Spring Road and Los Angeles Avenue in 1942 and Chinatown used an orchard at Trident Ranch in 1974, which tells you what the county wanted from this place: agricultural frontage that photographs as anywhere. High Street is the historic center, with pepper trees planted by Robert Poindexter and the High Street Arts Center on it. Orchard, mesa and a period main street inside one day suits brand commercials and real estate films on the ranch properties.
Orchard, mesa and a main street with pepper trees
Moorpark's value on a call sheet is agricultural frontage that photographs as almost anywhere in rural America, ten minutes off the 118.
Underwood Family Farms at 3370 Sunset Valley Road is a working pick your own operation with fields, farm animals, a corn maze, wagon rides, a farmhouse and a barn, and it markets itself to productions directly. Chinatown used an orchard at Trident Ranch in 1974 for exactly this reason. Apricot Lane Farms, the subject of The Biggest Little Farm in 2018, is the other name people know.
High Street is the historic center, lined with pepper trees planted by Robert Poindexter, with the High Street Arts Center on it. Kings Row shot at Spring Road and Los Angeles Avenue in 1942. Moorpark College opened in 1967 and its Exotic Animal Training and Management program, established in 1974, runs America's Teaching Zoo, almost 200 animals on a five acre site kept entirely by students, which is a genuinely unusual asset for anyone shooting with animals.
The terrain is valley floor cut by the Arroyo Simi with mesas at the base of the hills, so a single position can hold flat ground, a rise and a ridge line. That suits brand commercials that need country without a long drive, real estate films on ranch property, and testimonial work with the agricultural and financial employers in town.
Locations with production history
Underwood Family Farms runs its Moorpark Farm Center at 3370 Sunset Valley Road: pick-your-own rows, farm animals, a corn maze, wagon rides, a farmhouse and a barn. The operator markets the site for film, photo shoots and commercials, rents farm equipment and animals, and describes its locations as minutes from a major freeway with ample parking. Commercial work needs pre-approval and a filming agreement through [email protected], on top of the city permit.
Moorpark College opened in 1967. Its Exotic Animal Training and Management program was established in 1974 and is one of only two of its kind in the United States. America's Teaching Zoo keeps almost 200 animals on a five-acre site overlooking the campus, is run entirely by students, and opens to the public every weekend. The campus permits separately: outside organisations file the college's own film or photography permit application plus a district hold harmless agreement with the Business Services Office in Fountain Hall. Fees and lead time are not published there.
Central Moorpark occupies a valley formed by the Arroyo Simi and is bounded by hills. That reads on camera as enclosed valley terrain rather than open coastal plain.
What has shot in Moorpark
The city's Economic Development Division keeps its own filming list. Chinatown (1974) is on it. So are Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Kitchen Nightmares (2007), Horrible Bosses 2 (2014), Magic Camp (2020), The Little Things (2021), The Mosquito Coast (2021) and The Fabelmans (2022). Kings Row (1942) and the documentary The Biggest Little Farm (2018) also appear. The list names titles, not addresses, so read it as evidence the city hosts production regularly rather than as a location index.
Who books Moorpark days
The city's Economic Development Division describes a base of manufacturing employers in aerospace, drones, and auto and motorcycle industries, with major biotech firms nearby. Its Economic Development Strategic Plan, adopted unanimously by the City Council on November 20, 2024, sets out retaining existing businesses and growing advanced manufacturing. Marketing managers at those firms commission plant walkthroughs, product films and recruitment pieces, nearly all of it on private property under the two-week clock.
Other briefs hit the same schedule differently. A listing film shot commercially inside a Moorpark property falls under the private property fee line, and business registration is required for all commercial filming, so an agent booking a crew should ask who carries it. An event organiser staging an activation on a city parking lot should price the $303.00 rental and hold the $1,000.00 deposit in the budget until the city decides whether to charge it. Artists and labels get the same form, with Music Video already printed on it.
Travel and conditions
Moorpark sits at 515 feet across 12.46 square miles, roughly 340 feet above Camarillo and well inland of it. Annual precipitation averages 17.4 inches, concentrated in winter, which is where the weather risk sits for exterior agricultural days.
From Westlake Village, third-party routing puts Moorpark at approximately 14 miles by way of State Route 23 north from the US-101 interchange, roughly 15 to 25 minutes clear of traffic. That comes from a distance calculator rather than an official source, so treat it as approximate. Population was 36,284 at the 2020 census, up from 34,421 in 2010.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a permit to film in Moorpark?
Yes, from the City's Community Development Department, and the farmland immediately outside town is unincorporated county ground with a separate office. We file whichever applies. Worth knowing when you pick a date: city public property runs on a four-week clock while private property is quicker, so a location choice can move your schedule more than the shoot itself does.
What can we film at Underwood Family Farms?
It is a working pick-your-own farm at 3370 Sunset Valley Road with fields, farm animals, a corn maze, wagon rides, a farmhouse and a barn, and the operator markets it for film, photography and commercials with parking minutes from the highway. It gives you genuine agricultural production rather than a dressed set, which is what Chinatown was after when it used an orchard at Trident Ranch in 1974.
How much does a videographer cost in Moorpark?
Budget follows scope: how many days on location, how many people on crew, how much post the cut needs, plus talent and location count. The city charges sit separately and are published, so they can be budgeted exactly. A city parking lot rents at $303.00 and a refundable clean-up deposit of $1,000.00 may be attached at the city's discretion. Studio 47 quotes the two as separate lines.
How far in advance should I book a video shoot in Moorpark?
Four weeks if any of it touches public property or the right-of-way, two weeks if it stays on private property, both measured from a completed application. Incomplete packets may be delayed or denied, which on a four-week clock costs a date. Farmland a mile outside the city is unincorporated and runs on the county's three business days instead.
What locations in Moorpark can we film at?
The city's Economic Development Division keeps a filming list running from Chinatown in 1974 to The Fabelmans in 2022, though it names titles rather than addresses. Two bookable sites permit separately. Underwood Family Farms at 3370 Sunset Valley Road markets its Farm Center for film and commercials, and Moorpark College, home to America's Teaching Zoo, files its own permit.
Can you fly a drone for video in Moorpark?
Yes, and the city already expects it. Drone is a printed production category on Moorpark's application form, sitting beside Feature, Commercial, Music Video, Pilot and Photo, so aerial work runs through the standard city permit rather than a separate track. Federal rules stack on top: a Part 107 remote pilot certificate and aircraft registration with the FAA.
What kinds of businesses in Moorpark use video production?
Manufacturing leads. The city's Economic Development Division describes employers in aerospace, drones, and auto and motorcycle industries, with major biotech firms nearby, and its Strategic Plan adopted November 20, 2024 targets advanced manufacturing growth. That reads as plant walkthroughs, product films and recruitment pieces, nearly all on private property under the two-week clock. Brokerages and event organisers file the same form.