Hidden Hills, CA

In Hidden Hills the city limit and the front gate are the same line, and that single fact explains most of what daily life is like here. Once past the gate, Hidden Hills has nothing to buy. No store, office or restaurant operates in town, so the whole place is homes, horse paths and quiet lanes without sidewalks or streetlights. Some of the original ranch houses still stand, while on many lots they have given way to far larger houses. Riding and hiking are the town pastime. The bridle trails connect lot to lot, and past the northern edge the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve opens onto miles of grassland and oak in the Simi Hills. A short drive south, Malibu Creek State Park adds Century Lake and trails into the Santa Monica Mountains. Food and errands happen in the neighboring cities. The Saturday farmers market in Old Town Calabasas is a regular stop, and for a weekly grocery run many people head west to the Trader Joe's on Canwood Street in Agoura Hills. The freeway sits right below the gates, so reaching either one is quick outside of rush hour. The tradeoff is the gate itself. Every guest, contractor and delivery driver checks in with staff on the way through, so a plumber visit or a dinner party takes a little planning, and there is no park, library or coffee counter to wander to on foot. What people describe most about living in Hidden Hills is the sound. Past the gate the freeway fades, and a normal weekday morning means hoofbeats on the trail and not much else.