Vasquez Rocks

Los Angeles Wedding Venues

Vasquez Rocks Photographer

I am a photographer who photographs couples, families, and events at Vasquez Rocks.

This high desert area in north Los Angeles County features prehistoric sandstone rock formations. As a (now reformed) nature photographer, I know how to make this location shine as a family portrait backdrop or as an outdoor wedding venue. Check out one of my favorite engagement sessions I photographed at this location.

PHOTOGRAPHY PERMITS

Permits are not required at Vasquez Rocks for individual portraits, family portraits, or engagement sessions. Commercial or editorial photography will require a permit.

GET MARRIED AT VASQUEZ ROCKS

If your event includes 40 or fewer guests, you can hold your wedding ceremony at Vasquez Rocks.

PLANNING YOUR CEREMONY

There are several important considerations when you’re planning a wedding at Vasquez Rocks. They include:

time of day
weather
amenities
distance
landscape
other park visitors

Vasquez Rocks is a popular park and visitors are usually present throughout the day. Since the location is open to the public, visitors will be roaming everywhere and some folks may not be considerate of your ceremony and will appear in your wedding photos. To help avoid this potential issue, choose an early morning ceremony start time when the park gate is still closed. Although the park is open from sunrise to sunset, the gate doesn’t open until 8:00 AM and that will likely allow you some measure of privacy.

WEDDING RECEPTION

Although small ceremonies are allowed at Vasquez Rocks, you’ll need to hold your reception at a different location as those kinds of events aren’t permitted.

HOW VASQUEZ ROCKS WAS NAMED

This desert location takes its name from the notorious bandit, Tiburcio Vasquez. He often used the rock formations as a hideout. The small caves, crevices, and overhangs made the area difficult for any posse hot on this trail. The tallest rock formation is 150-feet high and was a great lookout point.

Vasquez was an active outlaw in in California from 1854 until 1874. Some of his most notable crimes include horse rustling, burglaries, cattle thefts, highway robbery, and four bloody prison breaks.

The end of his story came when he was cornered by a posse in 1874 at a ranch located in an area now known as the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. He was subsequently sentenced to hang for murder. This undated portrait photograph of a Tiburcio Vasquez makes you wonder at what his eyes have seen.

POPULAR CULTURE

Pop culture refers to the ideas, perspectives, and images that influenced or were influenced by mainstream culture. In addition to books and news sources, popular culture is most heavily influenced by film, television, and more recently music videos.

For this reason and given the importance of Vasquez Rocks in those media, we can see that this location has been an influencer for almost 100 years.

MOVIES

Vasquez Rocks is a great choice for filmmakers due to its proximity to Hollywood. This desert location first appeared in a movie during the opening scene for the 1935 horror flick “A Werewolf in London.” Here’s a list of just a few of the more recognizable movies that were filmed at Vasquez Rocks.

Army of Darkness
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey
Blazing Saddles
Bubble Boy
Cars
Deathsport
Dracula
The Flintstones
For the Boys
Forbidden World / Mutant
Futurama
In the Army Now
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Jingle All the Way
Joe Dirt
John Carter
Little Miss Sunshine
Mom and Dad Save the World
The Muppet Movie
My Stepmother Is an Alien
One Million B.C.
Planet of the Apes
Short Circuit
Shrek
Star Trek
Star Trek Generations
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Werewolf of London

TELEVISION

As you might guess, Vasquez Rocks was first seen on the small screen as Hollywood’s go-to western backdrop. The subtle irony is that it really was an old west backdrop in real life which is the perfect example of art imitating life. The earliest western TV shows filmed here include The Texas Ranger (1931) and Son of the Border (1933).

24
The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin
Airwolf
Alias
Alien Nation
Battlestar Galactica
The Big Bang Theory
The Big Valley
The Bionic Woman
Bonanza
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Charmed
The Cisco Kid
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Daniel Boone
Fantasy Island
The Fall Guy
Fear Factor
Friends
The Fugitive
The Greatest American Hero
Gunsmoke
Have Gun — Will Travel
The High Chaparral
Hunter
The Incredible Hulk
Kung Fu
Las Vegas
Lassie
Logan’s Run
The Lone Ranger
MacGyver
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Maverick
Medium
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Mission: Impossible
Monk
NCIS
New Girl
Numb3rs
The Outer Limits
The Pretender
Prey
The Rat Patrol
The Rifleman
Saving Grace
The Six Million Dollar Man
Sliders
Space: Above and Beyond
Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: Voyager
The Twilight Zone
Voyagers!
Westworld
The Wild Wild West
Zorro

MUSIC VIDEOS

Enrique Iglesias in “Be with You”
Michael Jackson in “Black or White”
Timbuk3 in “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades”
Radiohead in “High and Dry” (UK version)
Marilyn Manson in “Mobscene”
Rihanna (feat. Justin Timberlake) in “Rehab”
One Direction in “Steal My Girl”
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in “You Got Lucky”

STAR TREK – THE ARENA

Although Vasquez Rocks has been an incredibly popular filming location, it’s perhaps most famous because of it’s use in the 1967 Star Trek episode titled “The Arena.”

BOBBY CLARK

Bobby Clark was the uncredited actor inside the Gorn suit. His filmography also also includes work as a stunt man on Gunsmoke, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Virginian, and many other films and TV shows during the 60s and 70s.

BIRD CHECKLIST

Birdwatchers of all skill levels love Vasquez Rocks County Park for the wide variety of birds found in this area.

Photographing the birds you see is a fun activity for the solo hiker or families of all ages. Most birds are most active in the evening and the early morning.