Drive west out of Seminole Springs on Mulholland Highway and within a third of a mile you pass the volcanic-rock building that's been slinging burgers to bikers since 1961. Keep going another few minutes and you hit the turnoff for Paramount Ranch, where a $22 million rebuild is now nearly two years past its original reopening target. Turn the other way and you're at the gates of a state park that's marking fifty years of operation this year and still won't let your dog set a paw on its trails.

That's the actual geography of this stretch of Mulholland. While Paramount Ranch is being rebuilt, nearby businesses and parks continue to welcome visitors. Here's what to know before planning a visit.

Paramount Ranch Rebuild Update

Paramount Ranch has been under some form of reconstruction since the Woolsey Fire tore through in November 2018 and left almost nothing standing but the Westworld church and the Dr. Quinn train depot. The National Park Service awarded a $22 million contract to Santa Clarita-based AMG & Associates in 2023, with construction beginning June 12 of that year. The plan called for four new buildings on the historic footprint, a 265-person pavilion, a 100-person prop shed, a 200-person barn, and a restroom facility, with an original completion target of fall 2024.

That date slipped. By April 2025, coverage of a mid-renovation ranger-led tour pegged the new target at fall 2025. As of a January 2026 update from the Santa Monica Mountains Fund, the ranch was still described as set to reopen soon, with no confirmed date attached. Fall 2025 has since come and gone too, which means anyone holding off on a visit until the ribbon-cutting has now been waiting nearly two years past the project's original timeline.

The one thing that hasn't changed through any of this: the hiking trail system at Paramount Ranch stayed open to hikers, cyclists, and equestrians the entire time construction was happening, with only the fenced building footprint off-limits. So the reason to go was never really about the buildings. It was always the trails, the oak-and-meadow terrain, and the fact that leashed dogs are welcome there, unlike at the state park next door.

What's Been Open the Whole Time

While Paramount Ranch remains under reconstruction, nearby destinations a few minutes down the same road continue operating.

• The Rock Store, at 30354 Mulholland Highway, has been run by the same family since Ed and Vern Savko bought the old stagecoach-stop building in 1961. It's open Friday 9am to 5pm and Saturday and Sunday 7am to 5pm, closed the rest of the week. It's still the informal gathering point for the Sunday-morning motorcycle crowd that treats the surrounding canyon roads as their own.
• The Old Place, a longstanding rustic restaurant that residents in this stretch of Cornell have treated as a neighborhood fixture for years.
• Cornell Wine Co., the tasting room and wine bar that's become the low-key evening stop for people who live within walking or short-driving distance and don't feel like making a night of it in town.
• Seminole Overlook, a viewpoint on the east side of Mulholland Highway less than a mile from the Kanan Road intersection, worth the two-minute pullover if you've never actually stopped for it.

These are familiar stops in the area: a diner, a restaurant, a wine bar, and a free pullout, alongside the ongoing rebuild up the road.

The Rule That Trips Up New Dog Owners

Seminole Springs itself is pet-friendly, with a three-pet limit covering both cats and dogs, and plenty of residents walk their dogs along the community's own paths without a second thought. The friction shows up the moment you drive four minutes west to Malibu Creek State Park and assume the same rules apply.

They don't. Dogs are not permitted on any of the park's trails or dirt roads, full stop. The only places a leashed dog is allowed inside the park are the paved park roads, the campground, and the designated day-use picnic areas. That rules out Century Lake Trail, the Rock Pool loop where rock climbers still work the same wall used to film Planet of the Apes, the Grasslands Trail out to the old MASH set, and everything along Crags Road.

If a hike with the dog is the point, Paramount Ranch a few miles further on Cornell Road is still the better bet, construction fencing or not. If Malibu Creek's trails are the destination, the dog stays home or stays on pavement.

What's Actually on the Calendar This Month

Malibu Creek State Park is marking its 50th year of operation as a classified state park in 2026, and the August programming reflects it. The state park's own events calendar had a Junior Rangers geology program and a campfire program called Stories of Malibu Creek on August 15, and the next date on the books is a night hike billed as Hoots, Howls and Night Sounds on August 21, just a few days out.

There's also a small but practical update worth knowing if you haven't been out to the MASH site in a while: the bridge crossing to that site, which had been out for a stretch, was reinstalled and reopened as of April 21, 2026. That means the full Crags Road loop past Century Lake and out to the old television set is passable again without the creek-crossing workaround some hikers had been using.

None of this requires Paramount Ranch to finish anything. The park entrance sits at 1925 Las Virgenes Road in Calabasas, a short drive from Seminole Springs whether you come in off Mulholland or down Las Virgenes itself, and the anniversary events are happening on schedule regardless of what's still fenced off a few miles away.

The Actual Point

Paramount Ranch's reconstruction began in June 2023, and its reopening date remains unconfirmed. Nearby businesses and the state park's trails and events continue to offer options for visitors; the dog-access rules and bridge repair are also useful to know.

If you've been waiting for the Paramount Ranch rebuild before planning a weekend around the area, you can still include the ranch's open trails in your plans.

If you're a Seminole Springs homeowner curious what a resident-owned Malibu wine country property like yours is actually worth in today's market, the team at Malibu Mobile Homes knows this stretch of Mulholland Highway the way longtime residents do, park by park, trail by trail. Reach out anytime to get your home value.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.