In 1993, Bob Hope sold his 2,308-acre California ranch to the National Park Service for $16.7 million; the deal turned his former property into federal parkland and expanded protected land to about 20,400 acres
In 1993, comedian and entertainer Bob Hope sold his 2,308-acre Jordan Ranch in eastern Ventura County to the National Park Service for $16.7 million. The acquisition added the rugged, oak-dotted property to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, bringing the park service’s holdings in the recreation area to about 20,400 acres, as per a report by Parade. Officials described Jordan Ranch as the crown jewel of the Simi Hills and the largest single acquisition within the recreation area at the time, according to various reports and project summaries. Read on to know more about it here:
A ranch in the Simi Hills
Jordan Ranch sits in the Simi Hills east of Thousand Oaks, a landscape of rolling meadows, oak-lined canyons and grassy flats. The property includes Palo Comado Canyon and China Flat, areas that were praised for their natural beauty even before they became public parkland. Descriptions from the period refer to China Flat as a spectacular vantage point overlooking tiers of distant mountains, as per LA Times.Before the sale, the ranch had been eyed for development. Earlier proposals included luxury homes and a world-class golf course on parts of the property. The 1993 transaction ended those plans and ensured that the land would be preserved as open space. Park officials said the ranch would open for recreational use within four to six months, welcoming hikers, bikers and equestrians to terrain that had been privately held for decades.The sale also connected Jordan Ranch to adjacent protected land. The 2,308-acre tract abuts the 2,150-acre Cheeseboro Canyon property, which was already part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. As per LA Times, superintendents described the acquisition as preserving a key part of a wildlife corridor that runs from Simi Valley to the Pacific Ocean, allowing deer, bobcats and other large mammals to move between mountain ranges.
Part of a larger conservation puzzle
The Jordan Ranch deal did not happen in isolation. It was tied to broader negotiations involving other Hope-owned properties and a major housing project known as Ahmanson Ranch. Under conditions set by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, the Ahmanson development could not proceed until Hope’s other mountain tracts became public parkland. Those properties included the 4,369-acre Runkle Ranch near Simi Valley and the 339-acre Corral Canyon in Malibu.In 1990, Hope had signed an agreement to transfer about 5,700 acres of mountain property at three sites to a state parks agency for a below-market $20 million. That deal included Runkle Ranch, Corral Canyon and portions of Jordan Ranch, and it was described as one of the largest and most significant parkland transactions in recent Southern California history. The 1993 sale of Jordan Ranch to the National Park Service fulfilled part of that broader conservation framework. By 1991, a more complex arrangement had emerged. Hope agreed to a plan that would combine two giant housing projects near Simi Valley and turn more than 10,000 acres of mountain property into public parkland. Under that consolidated plan, park agencies would receive parklands worth between $120 million and $150 million, while Hope would sell 7,363 acres for a below-market $29.5 million. The Jordan Ranch sale in 1993 was a key step in making that vision a reality, as per reports.
How the purchase came together
The final Jordan Ranch transaction followed more than five years of intense and ever-shifting negotiations. State park officials scrambled at times to secure federal funds before they expired, fearing the money might be redirected to other parkland acquisitions. At one point, the National Park Service signaled its intent to buy the 314-acre Paramount Ranch property in Agoura using money that had been set aside for Hope properties, adding urgency to the Jordan Ranch talks.Parade.com noted that Joseph T. Edmiston, executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, played a central role in engineering the $16.7 million purchase. He announced, as per the report, that the acquisition in June 1993 and said Hope would receive the Park Service’s payment within the next few days. Escrow was expected to close that Friday or the following Monday, marking the end of a long process that had involved developers, conservationists and local officials.The purchase price was widely reported as $16.7 million for the 2,308-acre ranch. That figure represented a significant investment in open space at a time when development pressure in the region was high. Edmiston described Jordan Ranch as a very critical parcel because it represented another key swath of protected wildlife habitat in the Santa Monica Mountains.
From private ranch to public recreation area
Once the sale closed, the National Park Service began planning how to manage the newly acquired land. Officials said getting the parkland ready for the public would cost about $120,000 in the first year, covering ranger patrols, road improvements, and the installation of gates and parking spaces. Blueprints for amenities such as restrooms, picnic tables and parking lots had not yet been drawn up at the time of the announcement.The entire property, including oak-lined Palo Comado Canyon and sage-carpeted China Flat, was expected to open for recreational use within months. Park officials anticipated that hikers, bikers and equestrians would quickly discover the rugged ranch, which had once been slated for luxury homes and a golf course. The opening marked a transition from private ownership to a space where the public could explore canyons, meadows and ridgelines that had been off limits for decades.The acquisition also had implications for nearby development. The Ahmanson Ranch project, a $1 billion plan to create a mini-city of 8,600 residents, remained contingent on Hope’s other properties becoming public parkland. The Jordan Ranch sale was a major accomplishment, but officials said the burden now fell on Ahmanson Land Co. to deliver two other Hope properties to park agencies if it wanted to build the housing project.
A legacy of land and conservation
Bob Hope was one of the largest private landowners in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area during the early 1990s. His holdings included Jordan Ranch, Runkle Ranch and Corral Canyon, along with other parcels in the region. The series of deals he entered into with park agencies put thousands of acres into public ownership and helped shape the recreation area’s boundaries.In addition to the Jordan Ranch sale, Hope donated 360 acres of his Conejo Valley land to the Conejo Recreation and Park District. That property became the Hope Nature Preserve, a protected open-space area named in his honor. The combination of sales and donations ensured that a significant portion of his mountain land would remain undeveloped and accessible to the public.Today, Jordan Ranch is part of the Cheeseboro and Palo Comado Canyons Park section of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The recreation area has grown to more than 150,000 acres and is often described as the world’s largest urban national park. The 1993 sale of Jordan Ranch remains a landmark moment in that growth, turning a celebrity-owned ranch into federal parkland and expanding protected land to about 20,400 acres at the time.
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