The Home

The modest adobe has a living room and dining room, a master bedroom and bath, and a small housekeeper’s suite. The main house is less than 1500 square feet in size. It lacks central heating, so the Reagans warmed themselves from the two glowing fireplaces. It has never featured framed portraits of Oval Office handshakes with world leaders. Rather, the entire home has a rustic feel which reveals an essential simplicity about the Reagan lifestyle.

The decor of the house is heavily Western, with a 1970s accent. The picturesque decoration includes bamboo and wicker furniture with American Indian print cushions. There are several comfortable wingback chairs, a bumper pool table, and electrical appliances bearing the monogram of General Electric—the company for whom Reagan was spokesman between his Hollywood days and his political debut. There is a small bar lined with green Mexican goblets. From Reagan's seat at the dining table, one has an enchanting view of Lake Lucky, which was home to "Tru Luv," the canoe he gave Nancy on their 25th wedding anniversary. Throughout the home the personal touches of the Reagans are evident. One almost feels a sense of intruding on their privacy, even though the Reagans no longer live here. Ronald Reagan's books are present; they include not just studies on taxation and arms control, but also books about horses, popular thrillers and bound volumes of nature magazines.


The living room contains paintings of cowboys and Western landscapes, as well as Reagan's jar of jellybeans, still within arm's reach of the couch. The Reagans' branding iron hangs on a wall, as does a clock bearing the President’s name. In the kitchen sits Nancy Reagan's spice rack, still filled with the poultry seasoning and onion flakes that the first lady used for the Thanksgiving dinners the Reagans held at the ranch each year of his presidency.

The master bedroom contains two leather bound Bibles on a wooden side table; the quilt on the bed bears the initials NRR (Nancy and Ronald Reagan). Right next to the bed are two phones: one is a rotary dial and the other is a white phone without any dial or buttons, connected directly to the Secret Service command post near the house. The closet still holds Reagan's cowboy boots, several hats, and a dozen or so shirts and jackets that Reagan frequently wore on the premises. Nancy's "western" wardrobe, complete with jeans and straw hats, hangs on the opposite rack.

The master bedroom contains two leather bound Bibles on a wooden side table; the quilt on the bed bears the initials NRR (Nancy and Ronald Reagan). Right next to the bed are two phones: one is a rotary dial and the other is a white phone without any dial or buttons, connected directly to the Secret Service command post near the house. The closet still holds Reagan's cowboy boots, several hats, and a dozen or so shirts and jackets that Reagan frequently wore on the premises. Nancy's "western" wardrobe, complete with jeans and straw hats, hangs on the opposite rack.

The Guest House

A few yards from the main building is a small two-bedroom guest house where the Reagans entertained Mikhail and Raisa Gorbachev, Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth, Margaret Thatcher, and other occasional guests. None of the Reagans' more high-profile visitors stayed the night (that was reserved for family only), however—all spent their daylight hours at the ranch but retreated to the comforts of Santa Barbara at night.

The Reagan children and grandchildren stayed there when they came to visit. The decor is similar to that of the main house—very western, with boldly colored upholstery and curtains. The Reagans offered their guests one small amenity not available in the main house, however—the guest house has central air and heating.

The Outdoors

Ronnie would ring the bell when it was time for me to go riding. ~ Nancy Reagan

The exterior of the ranch is just as interesting as the interior. Up the hill from the house, by the barn, is an antique train bell that once belonged to Nancy Reagan's grandfather, a railroad engineer.

"Ronnie would ring the bell when it was time for me to go riding," Nancy Reagan recalls. When they returned, she says, Reagan would help her off her horse, "No Strings," and kiss her.

On the front porch there is the round leather and wooden table on which President Reagan signed the largest tax cut in American history into law, 1981's Economic Recovery Act. A red ranch jeep (used in 1981 to ferry Barbara Walters around the ranch) is parked in the barn. The riding lawnmower bearing the presidential seal is still functional.

And in the tool shed, one can see the McCulloch Pro Mac 850 chainsaw that Reagan frequently used to clear trails and cut logs.

It is hard not to be moved by the sight of the Reagans' initials, "NDR + RR," carved into the sandstone alcove of a giant rock. Or the burial site of their favorite dogs and ranch animals, with headstones that the President carved himself, out of a sense of reciprocal loyalty to those who had served him well.

To experience Rancho del Cielo is not merely to encounter an exceptionally beautiful and significant historical site. The place is also a window into the soul of Ronald Reagan.