Even the main trail to the stairs, the mostly asphalt Sullivan Fire Road above Rustic Canyon in Topanga State Park, is covered with graffiti, mostly more artsy and clever than vulgar or obscene.
Along the way, you’ll see many native plants, including large swathes of California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), the daisy-like stems of California plumseed (Rafinesquia californica) and the red stems and cream-colored blooms on laurel sumac (Malosma laurina) shrubs. There are sweeping views of Santa Monica and the Pacific Ocean here too, as well as some pretty amazing mansions looming above the beginning of the trail.
The important advice here:
- Walk carefully as you descend these very steep, narrow stairs.
- Breathe out more than you breathe in when you climb back up. This last advice from a frequent hiker confused me as I was gasping my way to the top, but it did help distract me from my misery so I could finish my climb.
Another helpful thing: We were fortunate to be walking with mild temperatures in the 70s and a light ocean breeze. There’s little shade along the fire road, so it could get oppressively hot if the temps were much higher; remember to use sunscreen and bring a hat. I noticed bits of garbage as I walked along, like discarded cups and cans. I briefly regretted not bringing a trash bag, until I realized I’d have to haul it all out. If you decide to bring one, consider carefully, because all those good karma points will evaporate if you leave your bag of trash behind. One final note about safety: I walked this trail with another woman in the midafternoon and felt fairly secure, but I would have felt less confident walking alone. Once you descend into the old Murphy Ranch ruins, where the graffiti is thickest, the walk starts to feel creepy, especially where the stairs are overgrown, and it’s hard to stand upright. I never felt any serious danger, but I was glad to be with a friend, if only to commiserate about the seemingly endless trek up more than 500 steps.
1. Park as close as you can to Umeo Road and Capri Drive in Brentwood, and as always in Los Angeles, carefully read all the street signs to make sure you aren’t violating parking rules that will cost you serious bucks if you get a ticket. We parked on Umeo, a short distance from Capri, and then began our walk climbing up Capri to Casale Road, where we turned left and began walking slightly downhill as Casale curved up and around some spectacular views and a home high above us, seemingly carved into the hill.
2. Casale ends at the beginning of Sullivan Fire Road, a narrow primitive road that curves to the right past a wide yellow fire gate with a sign saying you are entering Topanga State Park via the Rustic Canyon entrance. There are also warnings about mountain lions, another good reason to travel with a companion.
3. Follow the fire road as it curves around through buckwheat, sumac and other native plants alive with bees, at least when I was there on a midsummer afternoon. You may see some old wooden railroad-tie stairs descending down the canyon on your left, but these look unsafe. Save your strength (and your ankles) for the big stairs up ahead.
4. The graffiti along this road is colorful, often artistic and sometimes poignant or funny (“I didn’t wish you were here” and “Hope you make it!” written in large, cheerful colors). On the way out, we passed three people lugging what looked like heavy sacks. When one of them stumbled and dropped their bag, a couple of spray cans rolled out, so at least some of this graffiti is very fresh indeed.
5. After about 20 to 25 minutes of walking slightly downhill, you will come to a chain-link fence on the left. Follow the fence past the first opening (you’ll revisit the stairs beyond on your return) and take a left into the next opening in the fence, about 100 feet farther along. This is your first set of stairs — about 40 steps down to the old abandoned water tower, festooned with layers of graffiti.
6. Walk behind the water tank to the right, over fallen branches and other debris, and find the next set of stairs, 321 steps so steep that at times it almost feels like you’re walking backwards down a ladder. The steps are covered with leaves that can be slippery, and there are only sporadic handrails, so proceed with care as the stairs twist and curve down down down under overgrown brush and trees.
7. At the bottom, you’ll see a short dirt path that opens into a wider dirt road, one of the driveways leading into the ranch. Turn right, walking gently uphill for about 300 feet until the road begins to curve to the right. Look for a narrow dirt path to the left, where a thin, half-buried pipe has been painted mint green (paint that is beginning to fade and peel but is still visible). Follow this path to the left to an even narrower set of stairs, 130 curving steps so worn and faint they seem to be melting into the ground. As you get closer to the canyon bottom, you begin to see glimpses of graffiti-covered everything along the side of the stairs and through the trees, including some of the trees themselves.
8. At a small landing, you’ll drop another 37 steps into the shady canyon and what remains of the compound. To the left is the rubble from the old greenhouse, according to Fleming, and to the right is the remains of the old power station, “now a tagger’s paradise.” Inside the building is littered with empty paint cans, and every square inch, including the roof, has been covered.
9. Do some exploring around the compound if you like, but return to the power station when you’re done and start walking south, slightly uphill, along the broken paved road on the canyon floor, with Rustic Creek somewhere off to your right. This is a lovely shady walk, with sprawling sycamores and stately pines, but I can’t quite consider this a nature walk; the constant flashes of graffiti are a loud reminder of urban humanity.
10. A short distance from the power station you’ll come to a graffitied wall that curves gracefully up to the left. Keep walking past this wall, because it only leads you back to the greenhouse and the stairs you came down.
11. Farther down, the road takes a sharp turn to the left, where four tall pines loom above a short graffitied wall. Follow the road to another section of wall, with two tall pines rising behind it. About 20 feet from the end of this wall, look for a dirt path heading uphill to the right. This will lead you to the biggest stair climb of all, what Fleming calls “the monster — the largest known staircase in Los Angeles,” rising 512 steps, past low branches and invasive shrubs back to Sullivan Fire Road.
12. These concrete stairs are narrow, with nary a handrail or overhead lighting. Take them slowly unless you have a passion for running up steep stairs. For those who consider this possible, Fleming tells the following story he heard from an unnamed man he met on the stairs: “In the mid-1990s he and three friends pooled $5,000 of their money and set a competition: The first one to successfully run up all 512 steps, two at a time, without slowing or stopping, even for a second, would claim the prize. Each of the four fitness buffs tried multiple times to complete the task. None could do it. The money went unclaimed, and finally the competition was canceled.”
13. I can just hear the gears grinding in your competitive little brains — “I can do this!” — the same way they briefly, delusionally ground in mine. Well, the best of luck to you fitness buffs willing to give it a try. To the mere mortals among us, I cry, “Soldier on! You can do this, even if you have to crawl.” I know, because that’s pretty much how I made it to the top, after multiple wheezing rest stops and a brief argument with my legs, which wanted to sit down.
14. Rejoice when you reach the top and look back at the stupendous view of the mountains and sea while you try to calm your thundering heart and resume breathing normally.
15. Turn right and follow the fire road back the way you came. The return walk is sweeter, not just because of what you’ve accomplished but because the views go all the way to the sea. Be sure to look up as the road curves right against the hillside, and gape at the huge houses above, with elaborate pools and patios clinging to the side of the cliff. Return to Casale Road and wherever you parked your car.