Ladera Heights, CA

Ladera Heights is the hinge between the Westside and South LA. This unincorporated hillside community in Los Angeles County looks one way toward Culver City and Westchester and the other toward Inglewood and View Park, and La Cienega Boulevard runs straight through the middle on its way to LAX. Two eras of building split the hills. New Ladera climbed higher in the 1960s with larger custom homes, some by well-known local builders, set on curving streets, some looking out toward what was once the Fox Hills golf course. Across both, the lots feel roomy for this part of the county. Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area rises right behind the houses, with a lake, lawns and hillside trails. From there the Park to Playa Trail climbs to a hilltop overlook and continues to the Ballona Creek bike path, and the Stocker Corridor Trail connects into the View Park streets for a shorter loop. Food leans practical. For a sit-down meal, View Park's stretch of Slauson is a few minutes east, where Jerusalem Chicken turns out Palestinian-style roast chicken. Most weeks involve the car. Big grocery runs head to the neighboring cities, the boulevard handles the airport and Westside commute, and a shuttle from the park connects to the E Line at La Cienega. La Cienega itself is the main tradeoff. Up the hill the pace changes completely, and for most Ladera Heights residents the daily habit is a walk that starts on a curving street and ends on a trail with the whole basin below.