In June, the new owner of the old Woodward West property in Stallion Springs told Tehachapi News he wanted to open the facility to the public all year, where Woodward had opened it for eight to 12 weeks a season. "First priority is community," he said. By September, the project had a new name, Crescent Ranch, and a clearer answer on access. The plan now has no general day passes. People will get in through organized programs, tenants and special events.
The two statements fit together better than they first appear. Andrei Karapetian still describes a year-round operation. What changed between June and September is the explanation of how it pays for itself. The money side of this project explains most of what Stallion Springs will see on that property over the next few years, starting with who can walk in and ending with whether there will be a golf course to look at.
How the camp went quiet
Woodward West announced Sept. 29, 2025, as its final operating date. That ended a run The Loop counted at 25 years. The public statement said the decision was made with Woodward's long-term success in mind. Majority owner POWDR declined to say more and said it would focus on its Pennsylvania camp.
Karapetian has since given his own read on the decline. At the Sept. 2 meeting of the Greater Tehachapi Economic Development Council, he said the camp started slipping in 2023 when it lost its gymnastics program, which had been roughly 60% of the business. That fits a model that ran for only a couple of months each summer. When one program carries more than half the load in a short season, the rest of the year can't make up the difference.
The property's history is part of why people still care. It hosted X Games events, saw records broken, drew visits from Tony Hawk, and served as a venue for many local events and fundraisers. The Loop estimated about 50,000 visitors over its 25 years.
Three properties under one name
Most people call the whole thing "Woodward West," but Crescent Ranch is three properties that one owner put together over several years. Karapetian's company bought the golf course in 2021. It secured the lodge and camp facilities in 2023 after a yearlong negotiation with Woodward West. The 16.4-acre Woodward parcel itself closed near the end of May 2026, bought by Land and Legacy LLC for an undisclosed amount. Together the pieces make up about 300 acres.
| Piece | What's there | Status as of Sept. 2, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Action sports campus, about 16 acres | Three large hangars, a café, a cafeteria, a bowling alley, and 15 cabins with bunks for up to 300 campers | Operating with fractional tenants, youth programs, tournaments and corporate events |
| Pool House and spa, on the lodge grounds | About 1,200 square feet indoors with a fireplace and full kitchen, plus an outdoor pool, jacuzzi and sauna | Remodel underway; bookings expected to open about a month after the meeting |
| Lodge | 70 rooms, described as Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired, mostly used for staff housing in the past | Renovation planned for summer 2027 |
| Golf course, 167 acres | Inactive since 2017 | Rebuild planned for summer 2027, depending on water |
Longtime Stallion Springs residents may know the course by an older name. A Tehachapi News history column calls it the Horse Thief Country Club. Karapetian has said the course went dark mostly because the property had no hospitality facilities to support it. He told Tehachapi News he had wanted the lodge for years as a place for golfers to stay. When it came up for sale with the whole Woodward property attached, he saw the chance to run everything as one operation.
So the golf course, the lodge and the camp depend on each other. The plan described in September is built around families. Kids would attend camps and sports programs while their parents golf, use the spa, eat at the lodge, or spend time around Tehachapi. Corporate retreats are the other main market.
Why the gate stays managed
Karapetian put a number on the access question. In September he said the property's high-risk youth activities bring annual insurance premiums of about $900,000. That cost is why Crescent Ranch doesn't plan to sell general day passes. In June he gave Tehachapi News a similar figure, putting general liability alone at around $1 million a year. That same interview called a year-round, multi-use operation "the only way" the project could make economic sense.
Read side by side, the June and September interviews describe one strategy. Open more months of the year, bring in more sports, and fill the space through groups that can be scheduled and covered by insurance. The June interview listed cheer, gymnastics, dance, wrestling and martial arts as possible additions for the multipurpose space that Woodward used little or not at all. By September, the team said it was running feasibility studies to find which disciplines could support a program that runs all year.
The outside interest follows the same pattern. Karapetian said the Brazilian judo team is under contract ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. He also described talks with the Brazilian skateboarding team, with Tony Hawk and Shaun White about youth skateboarding and skiing programs, and with Willow Springs Raceway about lodging racing teams after events at the track. Every one of those is a booked group. For a local family, the realistic way onto the campus will likely be a program, a tournament, or an event that's open to the community. Karapetian told Tehachapi News he wants the property to stay available for local events.
The golf course depends on the price of water
Insurance shapes the campus. Water will decide the golf course.
The course has a priority-use contract with the Tehachapi-Cummings County Water District. It gives the course access to low-cost effluent water from the California Correctional Institution, and it doesn't expire until 2035. A rebuilt course would last about 30 years, so a rebuild in 2027 would run more than two decades past the contract's end. Karapetian put the gap in dollars. He estimated irrigation at about $1.2 million a year without priority access and about $60,000 a year with it, which he called "the difference between having a golf course and not having a golf course."
That's a ratio of about 20 to 1. Saving $1.14 million a year on water would more than cover the camp's insurance bill. For the people building Crescent Ranch, the 2035 contract matters about as much as the 2027 groundbreaking.
The water district hasn't promised anything. At the same EDC meeting, TCCWD General Manager Tom Neisler said no decision will be made before the contract comes up in 2035, and that any decision belongs to the district's Board of Directors. He also said that because the course has used so little of its allotted water since it closed, other customers who could have used that supply have lost out, and some may want a different arrangement in 2035. Karapetian called the issue "the elephant in the room" and said he wants community support to keep the priority access.
Both positions hold up. The course was dark for years, so the water assigned to it went unused, and other customers have a reasonable claim to that supply. A course that has been rebuilt and is irrigating every day would make a different case to the board. Until then, the 2027 golf rebuild depends on a decision that by Neisler's account won't come for years.
Fall 2026 status: what's confirmed and what's projected
Here's where each piece stood after the Sept. 2 presentation, sorted by how solid it is:
- Confirmed and operating: The action sports campus, with fractional tenants, youth programs, tournaments and corporate events. Karapetian said bookings are active.
- Secured: A conditional-use permit and liquor licenses, according to The Loop's report.
- Projected for about now: Pool House event bookings and the spa and wellness center, both expected roughly a month after Sept. 2. As of Oct. 6, we haven't found a public announcement confirming either one.
- Projected for summer 2027: Groundbreaking on the lodge and golf course, with about a year of construction.
- Projected for spring 2028: The lodge and golf course open, with the course still depending on long-term water access.
Some of the work already shows. Karapetian said the exterior improvements are only part of it. The buildings have new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems and upgraded kitchens. He also said more than $30 million in improvements were already on the property before he arrived, which made redevelopment more practical than starting over.
The best place to hear the next update in person is probably the same room as the last one. The Greater Tehachapi Economic Development Council meets the first Wednesday of every month at 7:30 a.m. at the Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District Office, 48771 Valley Blvd., the former Slice of Life building. On that schedule, the next meeting falls on Wednesday, Oct. 7.
A project this size near your street can raise practical questions about traffic, views, or what a resort at the end of the road might mean for your own place. Team Terri J has watched Stallion Springs through a lot of changes, and we're glad to talk any of it through over coffee. Reach out to Terri Juergens anytime. We'll keep following Crescent Ranch and share what we learn.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
