A movie ranch from 1937, and a Boeing 707 on pedestals
Simi Valley has been shooting since Ray Corrigan bought ranch land here in 1937 and turned it into a working studio that opened to the public on weekends from 1949 to 1965. Less known is how much of the valley's screen record sits away from that ranch. Big Sky Ranch carried every exterior of Little House on the Prairie across nine seasons, including the Ingalls home at Plum Creek and the village of Walnut Grove. Poltergeist used a house on Roxbury Street in 1982. Honey, I Blew Up the Kid shot at Oakridge Estates in 1992. Everything Everywhere All at Once put its IRS building at 400 National Way in 2022.
The city holds 126,356 people at 768 feet, in a valley closed on three sides. Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park sits on the county boundary immediately east, with State Route 118 running through it, and Chatsworth lies on the far side of that pass inside the City of Los Angeles. Thousand Oaks and Moorpark are the western neighbors.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library occupies a hilltop above the valley: 243,000 square feet, plus a 90,000 square foot Air Force One Pavilion added in 2005 that holds SAM 27000, a Boeing 707 displayed on pedestals 25 feet off the ground, with a presidential motorcade and a Marine One helicopter beside it. No other interior of that scale exists in the county.
Two movie ranches, a rail depot and a hilltop library
No other city in the county has this much purpose built film history still standing.
Corriganville is where it started. Ray Corrigan bought the land in 1937, built a working studio on it and opened it to the public on weekends and holidays from 1949 to 1965. Fort Apache, The Lone Ranger, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Star Trek and The Robe all shot there, and it has kept working: Westworld used it in 2016 and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood followed. It is a public park now, run by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District, which also holds Strathearn Historical Park and the Santa Susana Depot and Railway.
Big Sky Ranch is the other one. Every exterior of Little House on the Prairie across nine seasons was shot there, including the Ingalls home at Plum Creek and the village of Walnut Grove.
Away from the ranches the inventory is suburban and institutional. Poltergeist used a house on Roxbury Street in 1982, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid shot at Oakridge Estates in 1992, and Everything Everywhere All at Once put its IRS building at 400 National Way in 2022. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library sits on a hilltop above the valley with 243,000 square feet plus a 90,000 square foot pavilion holding a Boeing 707 on pedestals.
Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park closes the eastern end with sandstone that has doubled for the Southwest since the silent era.
Seven decades of credits, sorted by location
Corriganville is the reason this city has a filmography at all. Ray Corrigan bought the land in 1937 and built a working studio that opened to the public on weekends and holidays from 1949 to 1965. Wildfires in 1970 and 1979 destroyed the standing sets. The City bought 190 acres of the original ranch in 1988, and the park district now runs it as a designated film location park. Fort Apache shot there in 1948, along with The Lone Ranger, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, Star Trek, Vigilante Force, the third episode of Westworld and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Big Sky Ranch carried Little House on the Prairie for nine seasons. Every exterior, the Ingalls home at Plum Creek and the whole village of Walnut Grove, was shot in Simi Valley. The city separately names Allied Studios, which operates dedicated stages, and 76 Movie Ranch as filming partners.
The rest of the credits sit at ordinary addresses. Simi Valley Town Center played a location in 9-1-1: Lone Star. The IRS building in Everything Everywhere All at Once is 400 National Way. The Power Chamber in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was the Brandeis-Bardin Institute. The Poltergeist house on Roxbury Street still stands, and it is a private residence rather than a bookable location. Features include The Big Lebowski, Sneakers and Captain America: The First Avenger, and television adds CHiPs, Veep and The Rookie.
The studio zone claim, and who makes it
The City of Simi Valley states on its own filming page that it is located within the Los Angeles 30-Mile Studio Zone. Treat that as the city's position, because it is. The California Film Commission says it does not administer the 30-Mile or Secondary Studio Zone boundaries and points users to the CSATF map and the applicable union agreements. Check your specific address against that map and your own agreement before a budget assumes local crew treatment.
The Reagan Library gives the city a recurring broadcast presence that has nothing to do with features. It drew almost 400,000 visitors in 2014 and has repeatedly hosted nationally televised primary debates, including the second 2016 Republican debate and another in September 2023. Event producers, live coverage teams and broadcast units work this city on a calendar of their own. Reported top employers are Simi Valley Unified School District at 2,051, Adventist Health Simi Valley at 971 and AeroVironment at 870, as drawn from the city's annual financial report.
Terrain, fire risk and the drive
Simi Valley sits at 768 feet across 41.54 square miles. State Route 118, the Ronald Reagan Freeway, runs the length of it, continues through Corriganville and Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park, and crosses into Los Angeles County at Chatsworth.
Wildfire is not hypothetical here. It took the Corriganville sets twice. Fire department review sits on every city film permit, and VCFD can require a fire safety officer on location at cost, a live line item for generators, heat and effects.
From Westlake Village the drive is roughly 18 to 22 miles, about 25 to 35 minutes in normal traffic, out US-101 to CA-23 north and then CA-118 east. Those numbers are approximate. Neighbouring processes look nothing alike. Thousand Oaks amended its fee schedule in 2026, Camarillo permits filming as a special event, and Moorpark runs its own application. The Ventura County overview covers all ten cities, and stage-based brand film work or post and finishing can start from Allied Studios without a city permit at all.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a permit to film in Simi Valley?
Yes, and which office depends on the location. The city runs a standing Filming Office for streets and city property, the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District permits Corriganville, Strathearn and the Santa Susana Depot, and the state park at Santa Susana Pass runs through California State Parks. We sort that out and file it. Police coverage needs a week or two of notice, so street work is the piece to flag early.
How far ahead should a Simi Valley application go in?
The city encourages submission at least five working days ahead. Intermittent traffic control needs a minimum of one week, and two weeks is preferred to guarantee police coverage. No Parking signs must be posted 72 hours before filming and are verified by city staff.
What can we film at Corriganville?
It is a public park now, run by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District, on the ranch Ray Corrigan bought in 1937 and ran as a working studio open to the public from 1949 to 1965. Fort Apache, The Lone Ranger, Rin Tin Tin, Star Trek and The Robe shot there, and Westworld and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood came back to it. Expect sandstone, oak and trail rather than standing sets.
Is Simi Valley inside the 30-Mile Studio Zone?
The city says it is. The California Film Commission states it does not administer the zone boundaries and refers productions to the CSATF map and their union agreements, so the claim is the city's rather than a state determination.
What else in Simi Valley has real screen history?
Big Sky Ranch carried every exterior of Little House on the Prairie across nine seasons, the Ingalls home at Plum Creek and the village of Walnut Grove included. Poltergeist used a house on Roxbury Street in 1982, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid shot at Oakridge Estates in 1992, and Everything Everywhere All at Once put its IRS building at 400 National Way in 2022. The Reagan Library sits above all of it with a Boeing 707 inside.
Can we film at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library?
The library is administered by the National Archives and Records Administration, not the city, and no published commercial filming permit process or fee schedule exists for it. Approach the library directly.
We want to shoot a listing film on a residential street here. What changes?
Two things. The location agreement must be signed by the owners of the parking sites as well as the filming site, and No Parking signage needs a placement map plus 72 hours of posting. Agents drawn to the Poltergeist house should know it is a private home.