On Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, people walked into the orchard at 23600 Roscoe Blvd. with grocery bags and medium-size boxes and started picking oranges and grapefruit. As the Daily News reported, a bag of fruit cost $3 and a medium box cost $6. That is far less than the same fruit costs at a grocery store.
If you had planned around the City of Los Angeles page for Orcutt Ranch Horticultural Center, you would have missed it. That page still says the orchard opens to the public one weekend a year in July. In the ranch's 100th year, much of what makes it worth visiting runs on a calendar that lives outside the official listing: the orchard season, the volunteer workdays, even the birthday party.
The orchard calendar, as posted and as practiced
The Daily News described the picks as taking place "in winter and spring on selected weekends during the year." The two sources line up like this:
| City of LA Recreation and Parks page | Daily News, Feb. 24, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| When picks happen | One weekend a year in July | Selected weekends in winter and spring |
| Most recent pick shown | No date given | Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026 |
| What you can pick | Valencia oranges and white grapefruit | Oranges and grapefruit |
| What to bring | Your own grocery bags and medium-size boxes | Bags and fruit boxes |
| Price | $3 per filled grocery bag, $6 per filled medium box | $3 per bag, $6 per medium box |
The two sources agree on the practical details: bring your own containers, and expect Valencia oranges and white grapefruit. Even the prices match. They differ on timing, and timing is the detail that decides whether you go home with fruit. The one public pick on record this year happened in February.
The next winter pick has not been announced. The ranch's main number is (818) 346-7449, and the permit office answers Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is closed Mondays and holidays. If last season is a guide, start calling after the holidays.
Why the orchard is the ranch's oldest thread
The orchard is the part of the property that ties back most directly to how it began. William Warren Orcutt, a Union Oil geologist, bought the land in 1917. His residence, a 3,060-square-foot house in Spanish Colonial Revival and Mission Revival style, was finished around 1926. The Chatsworth Historical Society notes that he completed it with his wife, Mary. That date is why 2026 counts as the centennial.
The estate was once much larger. The Daily News puts the original ranch at 210 acres, and the Chatsworth Historical Society says roughly 200. Both agree that the city kept a 24-acre portion. The site was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 31 on Jan. 22, 1965, and became part of the city's parks system in 1966.
The remaining acreage holds more than citrus. According to the Recreation and Parks page, there is a seasonal rose garden, creeks, nature trails, a rustic barn, a courtyard and a gazebo. There are also several heritage oaks, one of them more than 33 feet around and estimated at over 700 years old. The San Fernando Valley Historical Society placed a plaque on that stand of oaks on Oct. 2, 1948. The grounds are open daily from dawn to dusk, so a weekday walk past the oaks needs no planning.
Part of the property is a working community garden. City residents can rent a 10-by-20-foot plot for a small annual fee, and the department sends plot questions to the Orcutt Ranch maintenance line at (818) 883-6641.
Who got the grounds ready for its 100th
The centennial depended on neighborhood volunteers as much as on any city program. On Saturday, May 30, 2026, a week before the celebration, members of the West Hills Neighborhood Council's Beautification Committee spent a workday at the ranch collecting leaves and clearing palm fronds. The West Valley Garden Club tended the roses, according to the Daily News.
The neighborhood council had already approved a $120 Beautification Committee budget to set up a table at the anniversary event. That small line item fits a pattern. The people who show up with rakes are often the same people who staff the folding table.
The celebration took place on Sunday, June 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Chatsworth Historical Society's June 2026 newsletter describes tours, a kids' scavenger hunt, an oak tree planting, live music and cake. An eight-page 2001 brochure on the ranch's history and architecture was handed out, and the West Valley Garden Club later posted 73 photos of the day on its Facebook page. In its post afterward, Council District 12 thanked "the many community groups and volunteers who helped make this fantastic event possible."
The new oak planted that day is the centennial's most lasting addition. It now grows on the same grounds as a tree estimated at seven centuries old.
Sharing the grounds with permitted events
Private rentals share the grounds with the orchard and the gardens. The city advertises Orcutt Ranch for weddings, special events and filming. It lists an auditorium, kitchen, patio, gazebo and restrooms among the facility features. Rental questions go to [email protected], and filming inquiries go to the Park Film Office at (323) 644-6220. City listings put event capacity at 175 guests, with rental hours from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
In a June 2025 response logged by the Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners, the department said Orcutt Ranch is not a commercial wedding venue. It added that a small portion of the grounds may be permitted for private events, with noise-mitigation protocols in place. The Orcutt Ranch Preservation Society, a neighborhood association focused on the ranch and its surroundings, has asked the city how public access works while those events are underway. In a May 2026 letter, the group raised restroom availability and parking, and said a closed pedestrian entrance had left Roscoe Boulevard as the only way in. That letter appears in the board's June 2026 correspondence log, which records it as forwarded to staff.
For a visitor, the takeaway is simple. Plan to enter from Roscoe Boulevard. On a weekend, especially in the afternoon, part of the grounds may be booked, so a quiet walk to the oaks fits more easily into a weekday morning. The same permit office that answers rental calls can tell you about fruit picks, and it is the closest thing the ranch has to a single source for everything happening there.
Between now and the next pick
The orchard's next public weekend is likely a few months off, but the ranch and the parks around it have dates before then:
- Saturday, Nov. 7, at Shadow Ranch Park. Council District 12's 11th annual free drive-in movie comes to 22633 Vanowen St. It includes youth short films, a screening of The Lorax, tree and plant giveaways, and a meal. Gates open at 3 p.m., and the movie starts at dusk. Given the program, the giveaway trees suit a ranch centennial year.
- Sunday, Nov. 22, at Orcutt Ranch. A Faery Hunt lists a 10:30 a.m. outdoor performance of its "Magical Adventure" on the grounds. Its December dates move elsewhere, so this is the company's Orcutt Ranch show for the season. Confirm it on their site before you go.
- Dec. 4 through 6 on Sherman Way. West Valley Christian Church, 22450 Sherman Way, hosts its free Christmas Village from 5 to 8 p.m. each night, with real-snow sledding, lights and live entertainment. Food, drinks and gifts are for sale.
- After the holidays, the orchard. Last season's pick came on the third weekend of February. Call (818) 346-7449 in January and ask whether winter dates are set. Have bags and a medium box ready in the car.
Orcutt Ranch is one of the details that make West Hills feel the way it does, and I keep track of those details as closely as I track the market. If you'd like a heads-up when the next orchard weekend is announced, or want to talk through anything else about life in the West Valley, Kevin Godley is glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.
