Matilija Canyon Ranch , Ojai, CA 93023(Ventura County)

Now permitted as a boarding house and listed as a Ventura County Historical Landmark, it was moved to Matilija Canyon Ranch and restored to its former glory -- with plenty of modern conveniences -- in the 1980s.

The welcoming main room is open to the formal living room, where you will find wood floors, wainscoting and a built-in hutch with storage drawers and glass-front display areas for period pieces or special occasion dinnerware. Large windows bathe the room in natural light and allow guests to enjoy views of one of the lawn areas, the family orchard and outdoor entertaining areas.

Behind the dining room is the well-appointed kitchen, which is licensed for commercial use and has commercial equipment, such as a six-burner range and griddle with double ovens. There are two sinks in the kitchen and a stainless steel, three-section sink in the butler's pantry, which connects the kitchen to the laundry room. The butler's pantry also provides additional storage and work space for times when you are entertaining larger groups.

At the rear of the hallway, a beautiful door with a stained-glass window leads to a mud room with a closet and tile floor. From here, you can access the parking area behind the house and one of the home's hidden gems: a secluded, screened porch just begging to be your private reading retreat, writing room or yoga studio.

Upstairs, there are four spacious bedrooms, each of which has a ceiling fan and an en suite bathroom with period furnishings and fixtures, such as pedestal sinks, claw foot bathtubs, brass shower heads and high-tank toilets. Each of these rooms has views and something special to offer, making each of them a potential master bedroom or perfect for use as guest suites.

residence, may be the room you would choose as the master bedroom. As you pass through the door, you step into a separate sitting room that is connected to the bedroom by French doors.

The second room on the left is the Peach Bedroom, which has an alcove for a seating area or play area and French doors leading to a screened balcony. On the right, the first room is the White Bedroom, which has two pedestal sinks in its en suite bathroom. The second room on the right is the Rose Bedroom, which also has a seating area.

There is a linen closet in the large hallway and a screened balcony at the back of the house, which guests can use as a peaceful hideaway before retiring for the night.

All of this is surrounded by a park-like setting under the trees and just steps from expansive, grassy areas, the corral, the large family orchard, a built-in barbecue grill, a river rock patio and a wood deck built around heritage oak trees.

An easy walk delivers you or your guests to the creek, the pond and gazebo, miles of hiking trails and the other residences on the ranch. There is also a river rock walkway that leads past the outdoor entertaining areas to a guest parking area, the well house and the covered equipment storage area.

The Barns

The residence known as The Barns was completed in 2000 and is creatively constructed of three barns connected with a stairway and hallway to create an approximately 5,000-square-foot home. The period-appropriate design of The Barns is intended to pay homage to antique barns built in the late 19th century and early 20th century and compliments the architecture of the historic Dent House and The Farmhouse. While The Barns looks and feels as though it belongs on a quintessential early-20th century ranch, it offers the modern comforts and conveniences expected in contemporary homes.

River rock steps lead to the entry of the East Barn, which resembles a quaint, country cottage partially constructed of stone. This self-contained section of The Barns feels like a separate residence but is adjoined to the Middle Barn by a Dutch door leading to a common area with a connecting stairway.

Slate floors are found throughout the main level and a large picture window frames a beautiful mountain view while allowing natural light to bathe the living room. A wood-burning fireplace crafted of stone brings warmth to the main living area, which is separated from the kitchen by a breakfast bar. The main-floor master bedroom is off of the living room and has a slate, wood-burning fireplace, an e

Exposed-beam ceiling, an exterior door to the front landing, two closets, and an en suite bathroom with charming wainscoting, tile and a pedestal sink.

At the top of the stairs, there is a linen closet for additional storage and the guest bathroom, which has contemporary and period tile and mirrored dormer walls surrounding the pedestal sink. The two guest bedrooms have views of the ranch and mountains and ceiling fans to help maintain a comfortable temperature on warmer nights.

Here, you can also access the common area between East Barn and Middle Barn, which is where you will find the staircase leading to the Middle Barn's large entertaining space with a vaulted, exposed-beam ceiling, wood floor, two ceiling fans and a wet bar with a refrigerator.

This spacious room is connected to the West Barn by a wide hallway, and it is here that you will find a private suite of rooms with a separate entrance. In this section of The Barns, there is a large living space and two bedrooms with exposed-beam ceilings and ceiling fans, and a bathroom with a pedestal sink, tile floor, tile walls and a tile shower-bathtub surround.

The Farmhouse

Built in the 1920s on the Dent Ranch in Ventura, the Farmhouse was moved to its current location on Matilija Canyon Ranch in 1983. This two-bedroom, one-bathroom home has approximately 1,200 square feet of living space and, while it is separate from the Barns and the Dent House, its central location just a short walk from the other residences makes it an ideal dwelling for a ranch manager or caretaker.

The wrap-around screen porch provides a cozy spot to plan your day over a cup of coffee as you take in the mountain views and listen to the stream babbling beyond the tree line, while the double swing just steps away is the perfect place to enjoy the quiet of the country as you indulge in fresh fruit just picked from the surrounding family orchard.

Inside, you are greeted by a wood floor in the living room and a full kitchen with a tile floor, a dining area and a door leading to the porch. Built-in shelves provide extra storage in the hallway, while ceiling fans and views of the ranch make each of the home's two bedrooms a comfortable retreat for the end of the day.

The Land

Matilija Canyon Ranch encompasses 560+/- acres in the Santa Ynez Mountains less than 15 minutes from the quaint village of Ojai. Part of the Transverse Ranges, the Santa Ynez Mountains lay in an east-west orientation, unlike most of the coastal ranges in California, which have a north-south orientation.

Adding to the geographical interest of the ranch and the land surrounding it, three canyons converge on the property, including Matilija Canyon (named after Chief Matilija of the Chumash people), Murrieta Canyon (named after the 19th century bandito, Joachim Murrieta) and Upper North Fork Canyon. The streams that run through each of these canyons are tributaries of Matilija Creek, which feeds into nearby Matilija Lake.

One of the many appealing features of Matilija Canyon Ranch is that it is surrounded by Los Padres National Forest, which includes approximately 1,760,000 acres of public land and is nearly 1,950,000 million acres when including the privately held inholdings within the forest boundaries.

There is a pond with a small gazebo in the park-like setting near the Dent House, a corral and pasture behind the approximately 600-square-foot wildlife refuge building, and large, grassy areas around each dwelling for entertaining, special occasions or outdoor recreation. Between the awe-inspiring mountains, there is lots of flat, usable land that could be used for a variety of pursuits, as well as additional potential building sites for those who may want to build their dream home away from the current residences and look into transforming the current dwellings into a guest ranch.

Hundreds of fruit trees surround the residences in family orchards, allowing you and your guests to enjoy fresh produce and juices, including three types of oranges, two types of grapefruit, limes, three varieties of lemons, four types of avocados, three varieties of plums, two kinds of peaches, nectarines, four varieties of tangerines, seven types of apples, three varieties of Asian pears, three other types of pears, two kinds of cherries, wine and table grapes, kiwis, guavas, kumquats, tangelos, tangors, two types of persimmons, pomegranates and four kinds of apricots. There are also olive, walnut, pecan and almond trees, as well as patches of strawberries.

The current owners established the 501c3, not-for-profit Corporation known as the Matilija Canyon Wildlife Refuge and worked with several state agencies to develop a land management plan, which is implemented by this non-profit. Recognized by the Internal Revenue Service and Franchise Tax Board, the Matilija Canyon Wildlife Refuge Corporation can potentially be acquired by the new owners, if they would like to continue this legacy of maintaining the land in a manner that benefits indigenous flora and fauna.