King Gillette Ranch, Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority — Attraction in Calabasas

I had the worst experience with this location. I saw the site six months before my event and took pictures. It was beautiful. I sent the coordinator the picture and asked her if I could rent the space she said yes. She would mail me a contract. She also mentioned it was the site of the former show "Biggest Loser". My contract came in pretty high but I was organizing my daughters first baby shower. I wanted it to be special. Two weeks before the event, I went to the site and saw it was a disaster. Apparently, when I took the photos it was still a "set" set up. The set was gone and no one told me they were taking the set away. The location had three foot weeds and was unkept. The maintenance staff eventually cleaned the area up after several emails to the coordinator about the disappointing mess. They mowed the weeds and threw bark on the ground. It was way too late for me to find another location so i had to make do. :( The day before my event I purchase $300 dollars worth of flowers and greenery to make the site beautiful, swept and purchase soiled for the hazardous areas my guests were going to walk on. The event turned out to beautiful even after disappointing location results. I was not notified about alot of things in regards to the location and for the money I paid the site was not worth it. I expected to receive my security deposit after I cleaned and made it safe for my guests. We left the site cleaner than when we got there. THEY KEPT MY SECURITY DEPOSIT!!! OMG!!! The location is beautiful but its a shame the staff do not work with you. They based keeping my deposit because I had slightly over the amount of guests and I went over the time allotted in the contract by one hour (I had to clean!!!) I did work with Pierre catering at the staffs request and he was a wonderful person to work with and would use him again. Out of all my years living in this area and coordinating events myself I have never experienced...

The Santa Monica Mountains Visitor Center is in the former Stables for the ranch is very well done and has a wealth of information about the Santa Monica Mountains but many people may not realize this is two seperate things or areas, IMO. The King Gillette ranch house and the functions are seperate from the visitor center. Make sure you go to the center first and explore all the information available about the area. Then after viewing the museum (and getting some souvenirs) go walk the grounds of the ranch house. The house was closed but looking in the windows is has been updated in the past and some of the remodeling was not in the best interest of the house. Very nice grounds surround the area but the house should be restored to its former glory. The swimming pool is still lovely but the connection to the house has been lost. The fountain off the wall in the back had deteriorated and fallen off the wall but you could tell how it used to be. Of course restoration would cost a lot of money but potentially an investment that would result in many more donations and rental opportunities. Finally, you should go out on walks and hikes and do things outdoors to truly appreciate the depth of the value of this conservation area.

While there the Rangers, caretakers and volunteers were setting up for the Halloween festival which looks like it will be a lot of fun. The holiday celebrations are well suited to showcase a drive through of the house grounds. Really an enjoyable...

As the father of a toddler, we're always looking for small, interesting excursions to get out of the house for a few hours each day. I discovered the King Gillette Ranch Visitor's Center after seeing a friend's instagram pictures of the old west town at the nearby Paramount Ranch. Look up my review of Paramount Ranch to check that out too. You can do both together on the same day. While at Paramount Ranch, I spoke to someone who worked there that recommended we go to the visitor's center at King Gillette Ranch, and we did.

This isn't a huge visitor's center but I thought it was very cool. There are a bunch of displays with buttons that light up, which my son loved. They have a bunch of animal statues, and other neat displays. They also have a movie playing about the Santa Monica mountains, and while it makes me feel like a weirdo that I enjoyed it... I really did! There is also a little shop that sells different items. They actually sell "local honey" that comes from Bennett Honey Farm in Fillmore, which led us to visit that place (where you can get the honey WAY cheaper). They have a little outdoor area too where my son likes to walk around and sit on benches. His favorite thing is probably the nice water fountain out front!

This review is just for the visitor's center. I've never actually done any of the hikes, but there is that too! I love finding little random or hidden places to see with my son, and this...