Bonnie Springs Ranch was an attraction near Blue Diamond, Nevada that included an 1880s Western town replica and a zoo. It is located on in the Mojave Desert, below the Spring Mountains in the Red Rock Canyon area, 20 miles west of Las Vegas. The ranch has natural oasis habitat because of the spring water surfacing there.
The ranch was originally created in the 1840s, as a stopover for wagon trains heading to California. Bonnie McGaugh purchased the ranch in 1952, and it was subsequently named Bonnie Springs Ranch after her. Horseback riding and a restaurant were added by the mid-1960s. Old Nevada, the western town replica, was opened at the ranch in 1974, followed by the zoo and a motel in the 1980s. In January 2019, plans were announced to demolish the ranch and replace it with approximately 20 custom homes, a new restaurant and motel, and a barn to be used for events. Bonnie Springs closed on March 17, 2019. Its replacement, The Reserve at Red Rock Canyon, began construction three years later, after a delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Early history The site is located at approximately 4,000 feet elevation, and includes natural springs, which were within the Paiute peoples homeland for centuries. They moved their dwellings into small enclaves in the rocky cliffs to the west after settlers moved in.
The site was established in 1843 as a watering stopover for wagon trains going to California on the Old Spanish Trail. The site included a ranch house. In 1846, General John C. Frémont, on his way to Alta California, stopped at the springs to prepare for the trip through Death Valley to the Pueblo de Los Angeles."Bonnie Springs: About Us". BonnieSprings.com. Retrieved October 13, 2014.Burke, Julia (spring 2012)."Movies to the Mojave". The Rock. pp. 8–9. Archived from the original on October 13, 2014. By 1860, the site consisted of a blacksmith shop and a cabin with one room.
Bonnie Springs Ranch Bonnie Springs Ranch was named after Bonnie Levinson ( McGaugh; July 30, 1921 – January 29, 2016), the daughter of western film actor and assistant director Wilbur McGaugh.Schumacher, Geoff (July 20, 2008). "Frustrations aside, Las Vegas ain't all bad". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved September 6, 2018. In her youth, McGaugh performed as a Las Vegas dancer and showgirl. She also performed as an ice skater, eventually touring with figure skater Sonja Henie. In the 1940s, McGaugh and her mother began a turkey farm in Twentynine Palms, California. Bonnie McGaugh would deliver the live turkeys to restaurants and hotels in Las Vegas.
In 1952, Bonnie McGaugh delivered turkeys to a friend who owned a diner in Las Vegas and a ranch in the nearby Red Rock Canyon. The friend showed the ranch to Bonnie McGaugh, who liked the nearby mountain scenery. McGaugh leased and subsequently purchased the ranch that year. The 115-acre ranch – located 20 miles west of Las Vegas near Blue Diamond, Nevada – included a broken-down bar and a three-room house. McGaugh lived on the ranch from that point on, and Bonnie Springs Ranch would ultimately grow to occupy of the ranch land. Initially, McGaugh re-opened the bar in 1952 and operated it for the next 12 years without electricity, instead relying on kerosene lamps. A dirt road provided the only access to the bar, which had previously operated as the Red Rock Tavern, opened in 1939.
Al Levinson (1924–1994)"Al Levinson obituary". Tributes.com. Retrieved September 8, 2018. came to Las Vegas from New York in 1949; he and McGaugh met in 1952, after McGaugh re-opened the bar. According to McGaugh, they met "because someone told him he should meet the dizzy blond running the bar in the desert." The couple married in 1954, and they would stay married for 40 years until his death. Al Levinson operated a car dealership. The bar became popular among the Levinsons' friends, including Las Vegas showgirls and other celebrities who performed in shows on the Las Vegas Strip. The bar also received patronage from residents of nearby Blue Diamond. In the 1950s, Bonnie Levinson added two horses to the ranch to satisfy customer interest in horseback riding. A man subsequently traded two horses for a car at Al Levinson's dealership, and the couple later had a total of six horses. Bonnie Springs Picnic Ranch received a business license in 1958."Amusement Park Master License". ClarkCountyNV.gov. July 2, 1958. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
By 1962, the ranch included a swimming pool. A stable, Red Rock Riding Stables, was added to the ranch in 1963, followed by a restaurant in 1964. During the 1960s, Al Levinson planned to develop a housing community on 34 acres of vacant land located a half mile east of the ranch. The community was to include an airplane runway for homeowners, but the entire project was cancelled. By 1966, Bonnie Springs Recreation Ranch included picnic areas and playgrounds, as well as 28 horses for riding. Bonnie Springs became popular among Las Vegas families while remaining mostly unknown to city tourists. During the early 1970s, composer Don Swander played a piano at the ranch on weekends. In May 1974, a western town replica known as Old Nevada was added to the ranch. The following month, a fire at the ranch destroyed a barn, a trailer, and a corral.
Businessman Howard Hughes owned the adjacent Sandstone Ranch. Before his death in 1976, Hughes made an offer to purchase Bonnie Springs; his offer and others up to that point were rejected by Bonnie Levinson, who did not want to sell it. A zoo had been added to the ranch by 1985. During the mid-1980s, Al Levinson had a three-year disagreement with Clark County officials over who would pay for 1.3 miles of flood-damaged road leading to the ranch. After Levinson sued county officials to repair the road, the county declined to issue him a building permit for a motel addition to the ranch, due to undecided zoning issues. In August 1986, Levinson received a building permit for a 150-room motel, after a District Judge ordered the county to issue the permit. At the time, Al Levinson also planned to eventually add a golf course to the ranch, although it never materialized. A 50-room motel was added in 1989.
The Levinsons' children, Alan Levinson and April Hopper, took over the ranch's operations after the death of their father Al Levinson, who died in December 1994. A copper and fiberglass statue of the Levinson couple was added in the mid-1990s, after approximately 18 months in the making. As of 2004, the ranch averaged 8,000 visitors during holiday weeks such as spring break and Memorial Day. In mid-2005, Alan Levinson had plans to develop a 17-house neighborhood as part of Bonnie Springs, with each house located on two acres of land, in accordance with local zoning laws. The property was one of the few sites in the Red Rock area with zoning for housing, and the development would be a joint project between Levinson and developer Randy Black Jr. The project was to be built on 34 acres of vacant property located a half mile east of the ranch, where Al Levinson previously planned a housing community in the 1960s. There were no plans to close the ranch. The ranch-style housing project received little opposition, and was approved by the Red Rock Citizens Advisory Council and the Clark County Planning Commission. The Nature Conservancy and the Sierra Club, environmental organizations, did not believe the project would have a large impact on the Red Rock Canyon area. However, it never began construction and the land remained vacant.
As of August 2005, the ranch had 86 employees, and approximately 32 of them lived there at the motel. At the time, the ranch averaged 1,000 to 1,500 visitors on Saturdays, and an average minimum of 2,000 visitors on Sundays. The clientele generally consisted of state residents and tourists. As of 2006, Bonnie Springs included the only restaurant and lodging in the Red Rock Canyon area. As of 2007, the ranch received an annual 130,000 visitors. Bonnie Levinson, at 94 years old, died in January 2016 following a brief illness. Alan Levinson and April Hopper continued to operate the ranch following her death."Bonnie Mae Levinson obituary". Legacy.com. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
Redevelopment plans In early 2018, the ranch was put up for sale, at a cost of $31 million. Upon learning that the site was for sale, Joel Laub, a housing developer, contacted his friend, attorney J. Randall Jones; they partnered to purchase the 63-acre property, under the name BSR6276 LLC. After four months of negotiations, they beat out several other prospective buyers, including one developer who planned for a hotel and casino on the site. The partners announced redevelopment plans for the site in January 2019. New plans included the addition of approximately 20 custom homes, as well as new amenities similar to the current ranch, including a new restaurant and motel, and an "event barn" that would be used for weddings. The event barn would include , while the new motel would include 25 rooms. The ranch's western town and zoo would need to be demolished to make room for the new development. In addition, Jones stated that he and Laub were not licensed to operate a zoo. Under the agreement, construction of the project would not begin until the ranch's animals were relocated, a task that would be handled by the Levinsons, who were supportive of the redevelopment plans. Hopper stated that the ranch was being sold because the family was ready to retire.
Laub headed the local Nature Conservancy group at the time, and stated that his goal was to develop the land "in a very conscientious way that takes into consideration the environment and conservation." Regarding Bonnie Springs, Laub said, "What's there now is not environmentally friendly." For the new project, Laub consulted with wildlife experts and arborists for a design that would include native plants and encourage movement of desert animals. Laub also planned to rehabilitate the property's natural springs as a water source for plants and animals. One of the springs had been dynamited years earlier. The project would include 8.5 to 10 acres of public space, while the remainder would be used for the housing project, with each home being built on two to three acres. The proposed houses would be designed and built to blend in with the natural environment of the Red Rock area. Jones said the houses would not be "giant McMansions with only 5 feet between them. We want it to feel like a rural area." Each house would have a maximum of 5,000 square-feet and would be allowed to occupy only 10 percent of each lot. Most of the existing trees and plants, including yuccas, would be retained, and the ranch's parking lot would be re-vegetated with plants. To drivers along Red Rock Canyon's loop road, the project's houses would be obscured by landscaping. Jones and Laub would be among residents in the new project. Zoning laws allowed for up to 31 houses to be built on the land. Jones stated that while additional homes and a larger motel could have been added to the redevelopment plans, they chose not to do so, to keep the area as similar to Bonnie Springs as possible. A water company, CSR Water Cooperative, ultimately had to be created to serve the needs of the future community. It includes a 375,000-gallon storage tank.