You can also sometimes watch location shooting out at the Paramount Ranch, in Agoura Hills. Once owned by Paramount Studios, and now a 466-acre public park, Paramount Ranch is still used as the location for a number of movies and TV shows.  And admission is free.

For several years, CBS filmed the popular TV series, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" (starring Jane Seymour) out at the ranch, and the public was welcome to watch the filming.

Visitors were free to stop by, and (since this is also a public park) most of the time they didn't mind if you watch the film crew & the actors do their work for the TV show, as long as you don't get in the way. (Just stay silent when they ask for "quiet on the set," and don't pester the stars too much.)

Which of the stars of "Dr. Quinn" you might have seen depended upon what scene they happened to be shooting when you arrived - not all scenes involve all of the characters, of course.

The taping took place on most weekdays, Monday through Friday. (Most TV shows go on hiatus during the months of April through June, and during the Christmas holiday.)

Alas, "Dr. Quinn" was cancelled. However, CBS later shot a "Dr. Quinn" TV movie at the ranch ("Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman - Revolutions"), and there's a chance there may be more such movies to follow, so there's still a decent chance of encountering a shoot if you visit the ranch.

And even if "Dr. Quinn" doesn't return, there are other films and shows shot there as well, including weekends. Recently, they filmed part of "The Flintstones: Viva Rock Vegas" at the ranch, as well as episodes of "Yes, Dear", ""Lizzie McGuire", "Diagnosis Murder", "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" and the 2001 season finale for "The X-Files." To be sure, call and talk to the rangers for exact shooting schedules.

But don't look for Dr. Quinn's cabin. It was torn down in early 2000, after the show was cancelled. So were the church, schoolhouse, blacksmith's forge and the Chateau Springs Hotel sets. Dr. Quinn's clinic remains, though, and so does the barbershop, the bank and the train depot, as well as the other buildings which preceded Dr. Quinn, such as the mercantile, newspaper office, the saloon, sheriff's office, etc.

In 2002, they began re-doing the Western Town set into a 1930's town (Mintern, California) for the HBO series, "Carnivale". The bank and barber shop were replaced with a furniture store facade. The Bray's Mercantile building became the Red Bird Restaurant in "Carnivale". The saloon was changed, and Chinatown facades were added around the corner. Dr. Quinn's clinic was changed a bit, but is still recognizable. A facade of a small Victorian style house was also added to the town. The house facade is seen as the home of the character 'Brother Justin'.

(For directions and more information about the ranch, see the separate webpage about the history of the Paramount Ranch. )