Murphy's Ranch

This hike begins at the residential end of Sullivan Ridge Fire Road, but the ruins may also be reached by hiking up Rustic Canyon from Will Rogers State Historic Park. From the street parking at the intersection of Capri Drive and Casale Road, begin walking up Sullivan Ridge Fire Road toward a gate 0.4 miles from the start at the entrance of Topanga State Park. To the west there is a partial ocean view over the Pacific palisades. The view to the north up Rustic Canyon continues to improve as you hike another 2/3 of a mile up the wide paved fire road. 

Watch out for rattlers!

A gap in the chain link fence on the left side of the road leads to the top of an endless-looking staircase heading down the steep wall of the canyon. Turn left here and begin the dizzying descent to Murphy Ranch. 

If you miss this set of stairs, there will be another staircase 0.15 miles up the road alongside an abandoned water tower.

The narrow concrete steps drop 200 feet over 0.1 miles down a lush slope that was once terraced and irrigated to harvest nut, fruit, and olive trees for the reclusive Nazis. 

When the string of 500+ steps finally comes to an end, turn left and follow the wide road down to the bottom of Rustic Canyon. 

The road turns up the canyon, passing through coast live oaks and sycamores that hide the crumbling ruins of Murphy Ranch.

A third of a mile from the bottom of the stairs, you will reach a large concrete building covered in spray paint. 

 Step inside this haunting hollow structure that once housed a robust diesel generator and fuel tank.

Around the power building there are raised gardens, and more concrete steps, all remnants of the $4 million invested in Murphy Ranch by Winona and Norman Stephens. 

The owners were convinced by their Nazi pal Herr Schmidt that when Europe inevitably fell to Germany, America would be reduced to anarchy, and the National Socialist Party would need a self-sustaining stronghold in the mountains outside Los Angeles to survive the fall and plot the American takeover. 

History proved to be a bit different. Authorities monitoring the ranch raided the facility shortly after the bombs fell on Pearl Harbor, arresting Schmidt and others for espionage. A radio capable of communicating with Germany may have been confiscated as well. 

Many of the specifics of this blight on Los Angeles history have been lost to time, but the ruins remain for hikers to explore.

Source: Hikespeak.com