Very cool location. I stopped in on a Saturday and was the only visitor! How lucky!?. I met guides Joe and Mary who guided me around the home interior. I wish I lived there. They are open Saturdays at 10am, tours start at 1pm and there in a parking lot inside the gates. It was free. Very peaceful place and a snapshot of times gone by. read more

George Key Ranch Historic Park - One of the garden walkways. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Placentia, California

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we are so happy we went there went there parked in a parking lot. There's only one other couple there. They host there explained everything in the house. We are fascinated. We're so happy that George key dedicated that property to the museum. What an awesome, awesome place to go highly recommended to anybody. I've lived near there my whole life and never bother going until now at 56 years old what an awesome cool place looking at all the farm equipment that was donated by neighbors close by. a gem read more

Beautiful museum and grounds. Well run by the County. The Citrus Harvest was great family fun. read more

George Key Ranch Historic Park - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Placentia, California

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Great little gem in OC. Tours Saturday at 1pm. Grounds are great for a picnic. Entrance is somewhat hidden. read more

I love this place. We had our wedding booked at a place in huntington, but when we randomly went to check this place out we fell in love and moved it here instead. The people working there were so nice and so helpful (Especially Bradley) and accommodating and the price was so reasonable. I recommend them all the time and look forward to continuing to visit this special place. The only con is not being able to stay here into the night. You can work it out if you have a large budget for lighting though, and you will have to get some approval to do that. So just be ready if you want to be there into the night. read more

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I live right next to this ranch, and I've always loved it. I grew up next to it going all the time and taking several field trips. Awesome place and as my backyard backs up to it, they are doing construction and planning on reopening. Very excited!! read more

Wow I guess this is really a hidden gem. No listing on Yelp and George Key Ranch has only been on the National List of Historic Places since 1975. One day I was driving by and I notice a small green patch on my GPS, which means park. Every time I would drive by Bastanchury and Placentia I would notice this on the GPS but see nothing. One day I got curious and decided to find out what this green patch is all about. I parked next to this high wall surrounding an old house and huge trees (on Gilman Circle). I found an open gate and peeked inside, feeling like I was about to trespass on some private property. I see lots of old rusted plows, farm tools, and a wagon displayed in a small courtyard. There are numbers next to them, like you would see in a museum. But nobody around. The OC Parks logo is on a posted sign, so I figure I'll walk around until I'm asked to leave. There's a large woodshed that I can tell has been turned into an office. Somebody is here, but the office is empty. There are public bathrooms and a large picnic area under an old tree, with a large hanging metal dinner triangle. You know the kind, that you see in western movies with some one yelling "Come and Get It" as they rattle a dinner spoon inside of it. I journey alone a few steps more and see a whole bunch of orange trees all set up with an old style ditch irrigation system. They are absolutely covered in Valencia oranges. These are some old trees and there are an acre of them. Mixed in with them are some more old rusted farm tools all marked with numbers. As I get to the end of them, I start to see some signs of the present. It's clear that people do work in this field from time to time and pick them. There's a little parking lot at the bottom, but the entrance is gated off from the main road. I follow what would have been the owner's driveway back to the house. Beautiful large trees creating a natural hammock of shade 50 to 100 feet overhead. Man would this have been an impressive way for your guests to arrive. I pass an old Ford truck most likely from the 1940's. It's paint is all oxidized green and rusted. It's not clear if this has been abandoned here or on display. The windshield is cracked, but it's still interesting to look at. To my left are some wonderful gardens with paths that seem to wind around from bench to bench. Still nobody is in sight and again I feel like I'm trespassing on someone's home from a hundred years ago. As the sunlight peeks through the tall trees, I can't help but think this would be the perfect place to quietly read a book as the wind rustles the branches overhead. This area has been allowed to go naturally wild, but only vertically as the paths are nicely maintained. Mixed in with the flora are notecards with little philosophical thoughts written on them. Maybe it's a little over the top as I kept expecting to see each one signed "by Jack Handy". I work my way back to the house when coming outside is a park ranger in full green uniform. She seems just as surprised to see me as I her. She invites me inside the house for a one on one tour. Telling me about the history of the orange groves here (used to be 20 acres before sold off for housing.) The 2 story house itself is interesting as well. Built from 1898 to 1908, it offers a glimpse of how people lived back then. George Key's son lived in this house up until 1989, then left it to the county as a way to preserve the Orange Grove history of Orange County. The ranger then asked me if I wanted to pick some oranges and found a bag. Fruit trees in public parks can be picked by anyone. If you like making fresh squeezed OJ, this place is awesome! Nobody seems to know about it. I've been back many times and have always had the place to myself. Sometimes I see a park ranger and other times I don't bump into them at all, even though they are always present. Now here's why I'm guessing nobody has written about George Key Ranch on Yelp...until me. Their hours... Tuesday through Friday from 12:15 pm to 4:30 pm. And the 1st Saturday each month from 12:15 to 4:30. So if you want to glimpse into the past, the time travel window is very small. Call ahead to set up a house tour, no guarantee you'll get lucky like me. Tours are a $2 donation. But they do a free house tour at 2pm on that 1st Saturday of the month. Just give 'em the $2, since you are going to most likely walk out of there with $20 worth of Oranges. read more

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Love reading the reviews. My grandfather was born in this house . Barbara Key was my great grandmother . I've been to the home once. Hopefully it will open again someday so I can take my kids and grandkids to see it . read more

Brides who are looking to get married here beware of Michael, he is the park ranger on site. He is a very grumpy man and it seems like he hates his job. I hardly ever write reviews on places but I was very disappointed in how this man treated me. He was incredibly RUDE! I gave the George Key Ranch 2 stars cause the historic park is actually really cool it self. It is in a nice area and it is pretty secluded, which is always great for a wedding site. It seems to be very affordable as far as fees go. There is a few down falls to the location though. One of which you are only able to do a wedding there on Saturdays and they only allow you to have your event till 7pm. It is right smack in the middle of a residential neighborhood, so I am sure that is why they only allow events to go till 7pm. I also think the George Key Ranch would be best for a smaller, more intimate size wedding. There is not much space for a reception there. The main reason I gave this place 2 stars though was really because of the park ranger. I could not believe how rude he was. I was so excited to check out the place but when I left there I was practically in tears because of that man. I called to set up an appointment time so I could go and view the ranch and see if it was even something that I liked. On the phone Michael, THE SUPERVISING PARK RANGER, seemed ok. It wasn't until I actually got there and had to interact with him that he showed his true colors. I mostly just wanted to go there and see the place in person, but like any normal person who is thinking about holding an event somewhere, of course there will be a few questions you will have. When that time came for me to ask him 3 very simple questions he was a complete jerk. He said " Didn't you get the email I sent you with all the information?" .... me - "Ummm yes sir I did, but that info wasn't included in the email". The lay out of the ceremony site seemed a little strange cause there wasn't really an area for the bride to walk down the isle. So I was curious as to how they normally do the ceremonies there. When I asked about that, he responded in the most smart ass way possible, "The brides can come from any direction they want, the north , the south , the east or the west". OK so the wedding party would have to basically hop a 3 foot wall to come from the the rear direction to be able to walk down the center isle area. OH wait, that probably wouldn't work either cause there is a flag pole in the front yard, where the ceremony site is. In the 2 minutes, if that, that I talked with him he just continued on to be so rude. He did mention that he "hadn't had lunch yet and had a very busy day ahead of him with lots of appointments". I just find that funny cause it was 12:30 in the afternoon when I got there and the place doesn't even open till 12:30. So you would think if he knew he was going to have a "long day ahead of him, full of appointments and tours" he probably should have ate lunch before he got there. Maybe I caught him on a very bad day, who knows. I would definitely call before your appointment time and make sure he has eaten cause if he hasn't don't waste your time. read more

Closed indefinitely due to earthquake damage . Staff stated will not be open for several years