Bonanza: Opening Scenes

Welcome to Bonanza: Scenery of the Ponderosa!

Opening Scenes
Season One

The above opening scenes, first one, was shot at the Janss Conejo Ranch, and the close-ups of the boys were at Chavez Ravine, California.

Stage 16 Close-ups

Big Bear Lake Opening Shots

The opening ride-up shots were filmed at Janss Conejo Ranch while filming the pilot episode in April of 1959. The region was urbanized into the community known as Thousand Oaks in 1969. The rugged Santa Susanna Mountains still provide a lovely backdrop, even in today's times. Following the riding shots are close-ups of the cast. These were culled from the shots at Chavez Ravine during filming of the pilot and edited in this filmed sequence that makes up the cast credits.

In September of 1959, the cast and crew traveled to Big Bear Lake to shoot "The Truckee Strip" with actor James Coburn. The company filmed new ride-up shots of the cast on the east side of the lakeshore. This would be the first episode to open with these cast credits in the 1959-60 season. They would be edited in selected episodes of the 1960-61 season of the series.

Opening Scenes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Candy's Scenes 9 10 11 14