Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park

What a wonderful find this ranch was! It was like stepping back in time with real actual buildings still standing representing a bygone era. Great outing for kids 6 and up. Park kept meticulously clean and landscaped nicely with Birds of Paradise everywhere. Peacocks wander aimlessly about the ranch adding more natural beauty. What a marvelous did Actor Leo Carrillo did for all of us to enjoy!

I grew up in San Diego, but didn’t discover the ranch until the last couple of years. I love visiting and walking around first thing in the morning. What a beautiful, peaceful place. When I worked in the Carlsbad area, this was a great place to get away from the craziness at work for an afternoon break. The peacocks wandering around add another element of wonder to the experience. It’s very well maintained, the docents have so much information, and it offers an interesting and historical perspective to a once-​beautiful expanse of land that was Old Carlsbad. Looking at the pictures of what it once was, it’s too bad the city has become so horribly overcrowded and the once-​sweeping hillsides and vistas have been ruined by corporate overdevelopment, cookie-​cutter luxury housing, and worthless shopping malls.

This place was awesome! Super easy to get to, easy parking, the entire place is free, and there are dozens of stunning peacocks roaming around. My first time here wasn’t so great but it was my fault. As I was getting close to a peacock to take a picture, it screeched in my face! I got so scared, I dropped my phone and my screen cracked.
My advice to all: Don’t get too close!

Leo Carrillo Ranch is a FANTASTIC place to get married. We chose Leo Carrillo Ranch, even though we never got to see it until the day before our wedding! WE LOVED IT! We planned a destination wedding from the East Coast, and I found Leo Carrillo Ranch based on blog photos from other weddings. Finding an outdoor venue was important for us. We held our ceremony and reception in the same location– the upper patio at the ranch. We only had 21 guests, so it worked out and felt very intimate. It’s hard to plan a small wedding because there are so few samples online, and most spaces feel overwhelming, but the upper patio was perfect. It was super affordable. We held a morning wedding, 10:30 am start time. We loved all of the peacocks around (though beware, you should YouTube what sounds they make). We didn’t mind the squawking sounds, it didn’t bother us and added to the character. We live in a city and much preferred the peacocks instead of the sounds of sirens or traffic that we would hear at a wedding in a hotel or on a rooftop. It was fun to take photos with the peacocks! Working with the ranch was so easy, even over the phone! They were flexible with rehearsal times, and handled difficult situations well. During the reception, my Grandmother fainted and fell, and they had the fire department and ambulance on site very quickly! We loved the Leo Carrillo Ranch team, and we had so much more flexibility with this site. Many other places have too many restrictions (no candles, no bands, etc). We had a live band (no amplification) at our ceremony and it was beautiful! We love the ranch. It is so unique!

This place is a hidden gem in Carlsbad! I have lived in North County my whole life, seen the signs for it, but it wasn’t until a couple years ago that I actually went. I was blown away that I hadn’t heard more about it! It is such a great spot!
First of all — it is a FREE park! Hours aren’t great, closing at 5:00, which is fine in the winter, but wish they were open later in the summer.
The property is really beautiful with the contrast between the white abode, red tile roofs, and blue trim, and it is very interesting and education to look at all the old buildings and be transported back in time.
There are dozens of peacocks on the property, just wandering around. They let you get pretty close to them, too. It is so amazing to see their beautiful blue necks and heads — the blue is almost unreal with how vibrant it is! My kids love to follow them around and watch them hop up onto the rooftops.
We had our family pictures taken here last year and we received so many compliments on how it was just a beautiful and rustic backdrop.

Beautiful and serene! Love to walk around and see the beauty of this ranch as well as enjoy the gorgeous peacocks, which are everywhere! Just know that park is closed on Mondays and docent tours of the Adobe house are only on the weekends. However, the visitor center shows you the history of the ranch via a short movie. A must see. Bring a picnic to enjoy!

Christmas/​holiday thing is lame! Snow is barely hill of ice. I feel like a Scrooge, but kids bored and line after line after line is annoying!!! First and last year here!

Wonderful place! Great history.

This place was amazing, and so beautiful. A great place for any kind of gathering. I felt like a little kid walking around, baby peacocks here, peacock eggs there, old photos from long ago, old buildings, such historic value, i cant believe i never knew about this treasure until now. I will hoping to plan my daughters next birthday party here. what a golden find.

This is a wonderful hidden jewel in Carlsbad. There are peacocks walking around all over the property. Very nice place with a lot of local history for a day out.

PERFECT WEDDING VENUE!
My husband and I were married here 3 years ago. Since then, three other couples we know have gotten married there (wish we got a commission haha!).
It the perfect venue for a rustic wedding. I especially loved that it was a DIY wedding venue — meaning we could to bring in our own caterer, bar, dessert bar, décor etc. We didn’t have to buy a packaged deal like every other venue out there.
There’s a beautiful pepper tree that you can get married under and a gorgeous pool with a bar at one end.
The price is right especially is you’re a Carlsbad resident (you get a little discount).
Thank you Leo Carillo, you and your employees were perfect! We will continue to visit for years to come.

What an amazing place to go & get beautiful photos. The guided tour is very educational. Tom was very well spoken & provided us with interesting info about the ranch. We loved this place. Just bring water. They have a water fountain but in the direct sun it’s really hot. They also have a picnic table if u wanna bring a lunch. All free!

Beautiful place for a photoshoot. Plenty of peacocks around every time I’ve gone and you can get pretty close to them. Peaceful place to be. (:

Great hidden jewel tucked away from the hustle and bustle right in your own backyard! I love that you barely see (or hear) any nearby streets and traffic. It sits lower than much of the surrounding area and has lush foliage and easy walking pathways. The Park itself is interesting with Hollywood history behind it. You must visit when they have a tour otherwise you will miss out some of the trivia and interiors of the buildings. Awesome that this is also a free place to visit and enjoy for everyone!

Came here for a Wild Wild West event and had a blast. Fun stuff for the kids and plenty of free roaming peacocks to enjoy! MY son had a blast telling me all about the feathers and what they eat which was awesome to hear that kinda enthusiasm about nature. The setting was fun Parking was a lil tight but worth it and the 90min guided tours were very informative and fun we even go to go inside a few of the historic buildings. To hear all about the different plants, trees and birds was great. Keep an eye on the entrance gate when you drive in most of our group didnt notice but the black entry gate is a great big wagon wheel with film canisters on either side! Very creative

We stopped here yesterday, on the recommendation of family, to see the lovely peacocks. I’ve only ever seen peacocks just roaming around once before, at that was at a zoo in North Carolina. When we first parked, we didn’t realize we weren’t actually in the park, but in the swimming pool area before it. When we got out of our car, there were three peacocks walking through the parking lot and a guy who got out of another car tossed a strawberry to them. They chased it and chased each other around, fighting over it.
Then we drove down to the park. It’s a really neat old ranch. We did see signs there saying not to feed the animals. Maybe they should put some signs up by the swimming pool. The parking is free, as well as walking around the grounds.
The grounds are really well kept and there are lovely peacocks wandering around everywhere. I did not have any idea they were such vocal birds. To me, they sounded like vocalizations of a cat mixed with a baby. Heh.
They host events, such as the wedding we walked past. We didn’t go on any of the tours, but I wouldn’t mind going back and going on one.
This is a nice place to visit, for people of all ages. The kids we saw there seem to be fairly enthralled by the birds and thankfully the parents kept them in control and away from the birds.

I love this place… I never knew it existed until a few years ago.
Great history… very cool look at the way people lived in the area back then. I have friends getting married here in the fall, thats how pretty it is and how much we like it here.
I am glad I found this hidden gem of North County… if you have kids… make sure they visit this place. I promise you, you will love it here just like we do.

Leo Carrillo is a nice place to check out for an hour or so. You can walk the grounds and tour all of the old buildings. The views are very nice and the grounds well maintained. The ranch is a nice place to attend an event, and the peacocks live there year round and are really cool to see and hear.

As a long time resident of Rancho Carrillo I have witnessed the continuous improvements to the Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park over the years. With each run I take through the park, the sights get better-​and-​better, the visitors seem more plentiful and the peafowl seem happier. Ok, well, I’m not sure that the peafowl are happier but they their population definitely has increased over the years.
A long time ago, when North County was only agricultural fields and ranches a famous guy named Leo Carrillo, best known for his role on The Cisco Kid, ditched Hollywood on the weekends and retreated to Carlsbad to enjoy the slow pace of his ranch. Today the ranch is a Carlsbad Park and a great place to learn about ranch life, have a picnic, take a short walk, host a party or just admire the peafowl. To really learn about the park stop and chat with the docents or jump in on one of the walking tours, especially if you want to see the inside of the buildings since they are typically locked.
As other reviewers noted, the park hosts special events like a Christmas tree lighting and outdoor movies. For me, I just love to jog through the park and check out the beautiful peacocks and keep an eye out for the camouflaged peahens. Park admission is free but donations can be made at the docent’s house.

I love this place… I grew up in La Costa and never knew it existed until a few years ago. Great history… very cool look at the way people lived in the area back then. I have come here several times and it’s very cool. I would love to travel back in time and be hanging with the «Carrillo» crew… partying poolside. Must have been some good times had here.
I am glad I found this hidden gem of North County… if you have kids… make sure they visit this place.