Burbank North Estates, Burbank, CA

Burbank North Estates sits high in the northeast corner of the city, where winding streets and cul-de-sacs climb toward the Verdugo Mountains and many backyards look out across the San Fernando Valley. It is the most tucked-away of the hillside areas, perched above the older foothill blocks of the Hillside District. Homes in Burbank North Estates are larger and later than the flatland bungalows most people picture in this part of the Valley. Some have been rebuilt or expanded since, and the view shapes how nearly every house is set on its lot. Brace Canyon Park is the local gathering spot, with ball fields and tennis courts under lights, a basketball court, a playground and picnic tables set against the hills. Wildwood Canyon Park sits just up the road, and its trailheads along Wildwood Canyon Road lead up into the mountains. Food close to home is limited to a short stretch of North Glenoaks Boulevard, where two small bakeries, Zaatar Factory and Bakery and Altadena Bakery, cover a quick breakfast. For a dinner out with a view, the Castaway on Harvard Road looks over the whole valley. Almost everything else means a drive. Groceries and errands are down the hill along Glenoaks or in the flats, and the freeway is a few minutes away once you reach the bottom. The terrain is the tradeoff. Streets are steep and curving, walking to a store is not practical, and living against the brush line means taking wildfire exposure seriously during fire season. Brace Canyon catches the mountain breeze, the air cools off sooner than it does in the flats, and the valley lights come up below the cul-de-sacs.