Located just outside Santa Fe, Bonanza Creek Ranch provides cinematic versatility for directors, producers, and location scouts seeking natural light, open skies, and timeless Western architecture. At the 2020 United States census, there were 4,406 people, 1,220 households, and 885 families residing in the CDP. Bonanza “the official first season” was released in Scandinavia during 2010.

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It featured original cast Pernell Roberts, Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker, and Michael Landon on horseback in front of the San Jacinto Mountains. VE AG released the first seven seasons on DVD in Germany between 2008 and 2010. In 2011, StudioCanal acquired the rights to the series and have begun re-releasing it on DVD, and all seasons have now been released but have not been remastered. On October 21, 2021, the movie Rust was being filmed at Bonanza. It is scheduled to restart in January 2023, but not in New Mexico.
Location shots from around Nevada were included, however, to add realism and style to the colour TV Western. Though not familiar stars in 1959, the cast quickly became favorites of the first television generation. The order of billing at the beginning of the broadcast appeared to be shuffled randomly each week, with no relation whatsoever to the current episode featured that week.

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It is located about 13 miles (21 km) southwest of Santa Fe. The town was started in 1880 because gold and silver were found nearby. Later, a movie set called The Bonanza Creek Movie Ranch was built near the old town. This set looks like a mining town from the late 1800s.

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Parking for visitors was at the highway level; only official vehicles, such as the park’s Conestoga wagons, were allowed at the top of the ridge, where the park was located. Depending on the time of day, a park visit could include breakfast. Lunch, including a “Hoss Burger”, could also be purchased. Estimates are that more than three million of these were sold during the park’s existence. Bonanza’s first opening scene, in season 1, was shot on location at Lake Hemet in Mountain Center, California.
The original plan was to open the set to tourists once filming had wrapped. However, shuttling cast and crew up to Incline Village on a weekly basis became cost-prohibitive. A majority of ranch-specific scenes were shot on a sound stage at Paramount Studios in Hollywood.
Graves of the Cartwrights and cook Hop Sing were later added, following the deaths of Dan Blocker (1972), Victor Sen Yung (1980), Lorne Greene (1987), and Michael Landon (1991). The house contained a less-than-realistic carved figure of Ben Cartwright sitting at his desk, and of Hop Sing working in the kitchen. The only parts of the house that actually existed were the living room, dining room, kitchen, and office. The stairs led nowhere, as the “bedrooms” were actually located on a sound stage in Hollywood. These include Silverado and A Million Ways to Die in the West. The TV show Kid Nation was also filmed there in 2007.

  • Location shots from around Nevada were included, however, to add realism and style to the colour TV Western.
  • It was one of many towns that started after valuable minerals were found.
  • It featured a more relaxed long shot of the cast on horseback before the Sierra Nevada.
  • His picture was in the group painting on the sign promoting the park at the entrance.
  • It offers a welcome bonus with favorable terms and additional promotions, including free spins.
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The name “Bonanza” means “prosperity” or “rich ore pocket” in Spanish. It was one of many towns that started after valuable minerals were found. Occasionally, this wasn’t the case, as in the opening sequence or when Bonanza shot two-part 1966 episode “The Pursued” at Anchor Ranch, Lone Pine, California. But for the most part, Bonanza was filmed at Paramount studio backlots in Hollywood, where the “Western street” and interior and exterior settings were created.

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After moving to Lake Tahoe, the opening sequence with theme music was filmed on the east side of Lake Tahoe in Bourne’s meadow near Round Hill, Nevada. During the first season extra horses were rented from the Idyllwild Stables in Idyllwild, also in the San Jacinto Mountains. The first Virginia City set was used on the show until 1970 and was located on a backlot at Paramount and featured in episodes of Have Gun – Will Travel, Mannix and The Brady Bunch. In the 1970 premiere episode of the 12th season titled “The Night Virginia City Died”, Deputy Clem Foster’s pyromaniac fiancée levels the town in a series of fires (reflecting a real 1875 fire that destroyed three-quarters of Virginia City).

  • You may never have noticed Bonanza’s system of location work and set-dressing magic.
  • As producer, Dortort ensured that the episode re-aired during the summer rerun seasons, though two TV stations in the South refused to air it.
  • In episodes shot in-studio, the home exterior has a backdrop of sky and trees.
  • At its busiest, Bonanza City may have had up to 2,000 people.
  • The park also had a church that could be reserved for weddings near the church where the grave markers are located.
  • Bonanza City Casino, launched in 2025 by Hollycorn N.V., delivers a thrilling and secure gaming experience for online players.
  • David Canary returned to his former role of Candy (to offset Hoss’ absence), and a new character named Griff King (played by Tim Matheson) was added in an attempt to lure younger viewers.

For over 70 years, Bonanza Creek Ranch has served as a premier movie ranch and film location in New Mexico, featured in more than 150 films, television shows, and commercials. This privately owned, production-ready location spans thousands of acres of uninterrupted Southwestern landscape, offering eight distinct sets, including an authentic Western Town, a Spanish Fort, and historic homesteads. In 2001, there was an attempt to revive the Bonanza concept with a prequel, Ponderosa—not to be confused with the 1972 summer reruns Bonanza City under the same title6—with a pilot directed by Simon Wincer and filmed in Australia. Covering the time when the Cartwrights first arrived at the Ponderosa, when Adam and Hoss were teenagers and Joe a little boy, the series lasted 20 episodes and featured less gunfire and brawling than the original. Bonanza creator David Dortort approved PAX TV (now Ion TV)’s decision to hire Beth Sullivan, formerly of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, which some believe gave the series more depth as well as a softer edge.

David Canary returned to his former role of Candy (to offset Hoss’ absence), and a new character named Griff King (played by Tim Matheson) was added in an attempt to lure younger viewers. Griff, in prison for nearly killing his abusive stepfather, was paroled into Ben’s custody and given a job as a ranch hand. Several episodes were built around his character, one that Matheson never had a chance to fully develop before the show was abruptly cancelled in November 1972 (with the final episode airing January 16, 1973). Many fans, as well as both Landon and Greene, felt that the character of Hoss was essential, as he was a nurturing, empathetic soul who rounded out the all-male cast. The ranch name refers to the Pinus ponderosa (ponderosa pine), common in the West. The nearest town to the Ponderosa was Virginia City, where the Cartwrights would go to converse with Sheriff Roy Coffee (played by veteran actor Ray Teal), or his deputy Clem Foster (Bing Russell).

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In 1968, a slightly revamped horn and percussion-heavy arrangement of the original score introduced the series, which was used until 1970. A new theme song, called “The Big Bonanza” was written in 1970 by episode scorer David Rose, and was used from 1970 to 1972. Action-shot pictorials of the cast replaced the galloping trio with the order of the actors rotating from episode to episode, resulting in Blocker or Landon often getting top billing over Greene. Finally, a faster rendition of the original music returned for the 14th and final season, along with action shots of the cast (sans Dan Blocker, who had died by this point). Only the front of the ranch house was ever shown on television because a highway ran directly to the right of the house.