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Selected films shot at Lake Hollywood
Garner Ranch, located in the Garner Valley, is nestled in the San Jacinto Mountains and surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest. The Pacific Crest Trail, which extends from Canada to Mexico, winds along the top of the eastern mountains bordering this pristine valley. Once known as Hemet Valley, and then Thomas Valley, Garner Valley was first inhabited by the Cahuilla Indians. Nicknamed “California’s Desert People”, the Cahuilla migrated to the valley from the Palm Desert. With temperatures averaging approximately 30 degrees cooler than Palm Desert, and even reaching below-freezing during the winter, the area now known as Garner Valley was a welcome relief from the desert’s heat. The Takic-speaking Cahuilla once occupied the better part of Riverside County, as well as the northern portion of San Diego County.

Charles Thomas, a young rancher who had followed the migration of the Cahuilla into the valley, began raising thoroughbred horses and Angus cattle in the 1860s. Many of the Cahuilla worked on Thomas' ranch. Among the most famous were Juan Diego and his wife Ramona Lubo, whose life of hardships and racial discrimination was the basis for Helen Hunt Jackson's beloved novel Ramona. Prior to the European invasion, the Cahuilla numbered from six to ten thousand. While the arrival of the Spanish and the Americans did not destroy the Cahuilla's political, legal, and religious systems, European expansion did cost the Cahuilla vast areas of land, the death of approximately 80 percent of their population from disease, and the eventual loss of political autonomy. As their population dwindled, the remaining Cahuilla were forced onto reservations established after several years of conflict with local and federal authorities.

In 1905, Robert F. Garner purchased 1,700 acres from Charles Thomas, and it was this land that became known as the Garner Ranch. Eventually, Garner Ranch would grow to nearly 9,500 acres of meadows and rolling hills. This cattle ranch is still owned by the Garner family, and has been passed down from father to son, Robert F. Garner, Jr., and then to grandson, Jack Garner. Surrounded by the San Jacinto Mountains, Garner Valley and specifically Garner Ranch became a location site for a number of Hollywood's B-Westerns. Lake Hemet, which borders the north end of the Valley, across from Garner Ranch, is yet another recognizable film locale (see Lake Hemet). Some of Hollywood's famous Western stars filmed on location at Garner Ranch include Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, and Tim Holt. The B-Westerns that utilized this location include Republic Pictures' Guns and Guitars (1936) and Springtime in the Rockies (1937) both starring Gene Autry and Smiley Burnette; Grand National's Headin' for the Rio Grande (1936) starring Tex Ritter; Monogram's Stars Over Arizona (1937) starring Jack Randall; RKO Pictures' Brothers in the Saddle (1949) and Riders of the Range (1950) both starring Tim Holt and Richard Martin; and Universal-International's Raw Edge (1956) starring Rory Calhoun and Yvonne De Carlo. The characteristic feature of Garner Ranch during the filming years was the white ranch house with a covered front porch, surrounded by several outbuildings, barns, and corrals, and in the 1960s, Garner Ranch's scenic landscapes were sometimes used in the opening credits of the ever-popular television series Bonanza. In 1968, Jack Garner sold 2,200 acres of the ranch to the Great American Land Company, which began marketing retreat escapes.

Garner Valley is located less than 90 miles from San Diego, less than 120 miles from Los Angeles, 50 miles from Riverside, 20 miles from Hemet or Palm Desert, 12 miles from Idyllwild, and 4 miles from Lake Hemet. To reach the Garner Ranch from Los Angeles, take Interstate 10 east to Beaumont and then follow Highway 79 south to Highway 74 east. Garner Ranch will be on the left (north) side of Highway 74, just beyond the easterly entrance to Lake Hemet.