Hillside District, Burbank, CA

The Hillside District climbs the lower slopes of the Verdugo Mountains on the northeast side of Burbank, putting trailheads, a municipal golf course and wide valley views close to ordinary residential streets. It sits between the flat blocks around downtown and the newer, higher cul-de-sacs of Burbank North Estates. Houses in the Hillside District were built largely in the 1940s and 1950s, with midcentury ranch homes on the gentler streets and custom and newer homes higher up. Many of the older houses have been renovated, and lots get larger and more sloped the closer they sit to the hills. Wildwood Canyon Park has several trailheads along its canyon road. DeBell Golf Club offers an 18-hole course plus a par-3 and disc golf, and down on Glenoaks, McCambridge Park has the Burbank Tennis Center, a pool and bocce courts. Tun Lahmajo on North Glenoaks bakes Armenian breads and lahmajo to order and has a patio for hot tea. Castaway on Harvard Road is where locals take visitors for the panoramic view, more than for the steak. Daily errands run along Glenoaks Boulevard, and a Trader Joe's and a Ralphs are both inside the neighborhood, along with the city's central library. The Burbank Farmers Market sets up Saturday mornings at Olive and Glenoaks, just across the line in Downtown Burbank. The hills cut both ways for Hillside District homes. Most errands need a car, the upper streets are steep and winding, and homes near the brush line carry real wildfire exposure. From Lockheed View Drive, where Stough Park and the Starlight Bowl amphitheater sit side by side, the whole valley spreads out below.