The hook
An easy Malibu canyon walk ends at the ruins of a modernist ranch house built into a waterfall, burned out and left to the creek.
01Why it's worth it
The trail is about as gentle as a hike gets, a wide path up a shaded canyon along a year-round creek, walkable in flip-flops, which is part of why locals love it. At the top are the ruins of the Tropical Terrace, a 1952 house designed by Paul Williams, the pioneering Black architect who built half of old Hollywood's mansions, set right against a small waterfall so the water ran through the property. A wildfire took the house in 1982 and left the stone foundations, chimneys, and terraces, which the Park Service now protects. So you walk up a green canyon to a ruin slowly going back to nature, with the falls behind it. Short, free, and more atmospheric than the effort deserves.
02How to experience it
It's off Corral Canyon Road in Malibu, about six hours from the Bay. Free, no permit, dogs allowed, about two and a half miles round trip. Go in the morning before the small lot fills; the waterfall is best after rain but runs even late in the year.