Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, CA

Woodland Hills fills the San Fernando Valley's far southwest corner, where Los Angeles meets the Santa Monica Mountains and the Calabasas line. It started in 1922 as the town of Girard, whose founder planted thousands of trees to draw buyers, and the pepper trees he set along Canoga Avenue are now a city landmark. Homes split along Ventura Boulevard. South of it, streets climb into hillside tracts with ranch and mid-century houses, some with canyon views and pools on terraced lots. North of the boulevard, flatter blocks of postwar ranch homes run toward Victory Boulevard, and Warner Center adds apartments, offices and townhomes around the malls. Warner Center Park hosts free summer concerts from the Valley Cultural Foundation, Serrania Park has a playground and hilly trails south of Ventura, and Woodland Hills Recreation Center at Shoup Park adds sports fields and a short summit trail. For longer hikes, Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve opens onto miles of trail at the western edge. Food leans local and casual. Lodge Bread on Ventura is the morning spot, known for naturally leavened loaves, big cinnamon rolls and ricotta toast, with Blue Bottle Coffee in the same center. Daily errands are a drive, but an easy one. Trader Joe's and Sprouts sit on Ventura, Westfield Topanga is just north in Canoga Park, and the 101 runs through the middle of it all. Every December, Lubao Avenue turns into Candy Cane Lane, a holiday light display that has run since the early 1950s. Heat is the plain tradeoff. Pierce College recorded 121 degrees in September 2020, the hottest reading ever taken in Los Angeles County, and summer afternoons here run far warmer than the coast. In July, pools matter, and the trails at Serrania get their use in the early morning before the heat settles over the Woodland Hills flats.