The Secret Location Behind The McMurray Ranch On Hallmark's Ride

Wide-open skies, beautiful horses, bull-riding action, cowboy hats and cowboy boots, and lots of family drama. So much drama. All of this can be found in the Hallmark original series "Ride." When it premiered in March 2023, the first episode introduced us to the trials and tribulations of the McMurray family. 

McMurray matriarch Isabel (Nancy Travis) raised three sons, Tuff (Jake Foy), Cash (Beau Mirchoff), and Austin (Marcus Rosner), while keeping the family ranch viable. Daughter-in-law Missy (Tiera Skovbye), and trusted family friend Valeria (Sara Garcia), are entwined in the family business, too, which also includes a royal role in the world of rodeo. 

The McMurray's ranch is located in a small town in Colorado, with a view of the Rocky Mountains in the background. And while those actually are the Rocky Mountains, these particular peaks are, in reality, located quite a bit further north. If you're a fan of the network, you know that many of Hallmark's movies and series are filmed in Canada, and "Ride" is no exception. 

Using Calgary, Alberta, Canada as their home base, "Ride" uses the natural beauty of the area to create the show's fictional Colorado town. The McMurray homestead is actually a real ranch called the Bar-N. "It's a real working ranch about an hour south of Calgary, outside of Turner Valley," Tiera Skovbye shared with Wide Open Country. "There are beautiful rolling hills, and the ranch has thousands of acres. They do hay, they have cattle. ... They have horses and breed horses. It's amazing."

For the rodeo scenes, "Ride" shifted to another Calgary location. "It was all shot at the Calgary Stampede. It's where they host rodeos and other events," show runner Sherri Cooper-Landsman explained to Deadline. 

When you see an episode that includes a more urban setting on "Ride," that's the city of Calgary itself. Show creator Rebecca Boss revealed to the Calgary Herald the location in Canada was a perfect match for the series, even given its unpredictable weather. "The elements are part of the story. It's this primal man-versus-nature and you embrace it." 

The actors of "Ride" were all about the show's drama while in front of the camera, but behind the scenes they were smitten with the beauty of their filming location. In an exclusive interview with The List, Tiera Skovbye joked about her co-star, Nancy Travis. "If we didn't know where Nancy was, you could see her at any point pointing her phone at the mountain, taking pictures." 

Travis didn't deny it, noting, "We talk about the location all the time, being outside and the huge sky. It was beautiful." The actor posted several of those phone-captured pix on her Instagram account, noting on one them, "I do dream about this place."

Beau Mirchoff, who plays Cash McMurray, told Wide Open Country he was impressed with several aspects of Calgary. "The Rocky Mountains are 45 minutes away, so there's great hiking. Great people, too. Two thumbs up for Calgary."