Hidden Hills is a gated city of roughly 600 homes tucked between Calabasas and the west Valley, laid out in the 1950s as an equestrian community. The signature look is a sprawling single-story ranch house on an acre or more, with white three-rail fencing, a barn or paddock, and a long low roofline that can carry several hundred feet of gutter. Many of the original ranch homes have been rebuilt as much larger estates, often two-story, with concrete tile or slate-look roofs over stucco or stone.
The mature landscaping is what sets these properties apart and what keeps the gutters full. Coast live oaks, sycamores, pines and eucalyptus that were planted or preserved decades ago now hang directly over the roofs, dropping tassels, leaves, needles and bark. Santa Ana winds come over the Simi Hills and refill a clean run with dust and dry litter within days. The 2018 Woolsey Fire burned nearby, and the city runs a perimeter brush clearance program because the open space along its north edge is fire country. Once the rain comes, an overflowing run on a long roofline dumps a surprising amount of water onto stone patios, planting beds and the pads of pool houses and barns.
For Hidden Hills we recommend three visits a year for homes under oaks or pines, late spring, late summer and late fall, and two for a property with lighter canopy.
