Santa Monica's Canyon Hike To A WWII Compound With A Dark Past Has Been Reclaimed By LA Graffiti Artists
Few American cities combine natural beauty with iconic history like Los Angeles. Sometimes it tells the story of beauty amidst industry. After all, LA's oldest park, Elysian Park, is home to a short scenic hike through sprawling foliage planted over a hundred years ago, with views of one of the West Coast's best-known skylines. Sometimes it's the story of flowers and foothills framing the birth of an art form, like you'd find on the Lake Hollywood trail, a lesser-known hike with views of the iconic sign. Sometimes, the story hidden within the beautiful wilds is a bit more sinister, even if it has a happy ending. That is the tale of the path to Murphy Ranch.
Outside of Santa Monica, located in a corner of Will Rogers State Park, Rustic Canyon is a bucolic meadow trail, lined by sun-dappled hills and gnarled coastal oaks. Wandering through such a peaceful trail, one might not expect what they find halfway through the hike. In the heart of the canyon is an old compound with living quarters and old stables. You can almost feel the ghosts. One can't help but think for at least a few seconds about the lives lived there, and the supposed dark mission that defined Murphy Ranch at the end. There's also a message of rebirth and renewal as the buildings have been reclaimed by LA's graffiti artists, who've turned these ruins into a beautiful public art gallery of vivid colors and wild images.
Rustic Canyon's ruins are steeped in a history of dark magic and ill omens
Start your hike at the top of a set of stairs at the end of Capri Drive in Pacific Palisades. About those steps: there are a lot of them, and they are a bit steep. Once you get to the bottom, though, you'll feel like you've entered a new world, which might have been the reasoning behind what the audacious owners of Murphy Ranch planned to do. The story goes that in the 1930s, Norman and Winona Stephens (or Stevens) met a German man, who supposedly had magic powers named Herr Schmidt. He told them the Nazis would win World War II and that the U.S. would fall.
Murphy Ranch was to be a self-sustaining ranch on the Pacific, and when the Nazis came to America, the people living on their compound would be a part of the takeover efforts. None of this has been substantiated by history books except for the existence of the main characters, and rumors that they were arrested (or maybe just Schmidt) after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. For whatever reason, the compound was abandoned. And while the Stevens family went on to support America in war and after, there are allegations of black magic and a Rasputin character that fueled the building of the compound.
Since then, it has been the centerpiece of a 3.5-mile hike that has drawn countless hikers, runners, and taggers. Unfortunately, the 2025 Palisades Fire decimated a large swath of the area. While it had been closed for months, since August 2025, hikers have reported a reopening. The hike is said to have changed, but the ruins were still there. The valley floor was mostly undamaged.
Street art and nature come together in Rustic Canyon
The first thing you'll notice once you're down in Rustic Canyon is the tranquility. As a more "out of the way" hike, it's hidden from the crowds that descend on popular outdoor destinations. While iconic Griffith Park has hikes like this one to a less-traveled peak with unmatched downtown LA views, Rustic Canyon feels like a world apart thanks to its connection to Will Rogers State Park. Even more, in the middle is the historic Murphy compound and all the free public art it holds.
Whether it was a Nazi compound or just a self-sustaining dream ranch with a shady history, one thing is for sure: Murphy Ranch is now just ruins. At some point, street artists must have heard about the strong, blank walls hidden in the wild and decided to do something with them. Today, you can marvel at the graffiti that blankets the compound. The juxtaposition of nature and art, of manmade construction amidst centuries-old trees, is about as LA as it gets. It doesn't sound like it would work, but the overgrowth creeping in around the clean, vivid colors makes for a sweet combination. Even the horse stalls, a stark reminder that there were ranches by the beach a century ago, bear tags.
After spending some time drinking in this unique experience (and water — it can be rather sunbaked), head back the way you came. Make sure you've saved energy for the walk back up the stairs. While on your return journey, you'll have time to wonder if the stories were true. Or if you just want them to be.