Secret Walks #42: King Gillette Ranch, 1.5 miles. 

A long drive for a short hike with a terrific payoff. Yes, his first name was King, and yes, he's the guy who made a fortune mass-marketing disposable razors. In 1926, King Camp Gillette purchased this 588-acre ranch in the heart of the Malibu Creek Watershed adjacent to Malibu Creek State Park, and commissioned the Pickfair architect to build a Spanish Colonial Revival-style mansion and stables that still stand. Barbara and I hiked trails green and bursting with Spring, and (sadly) passed one of three 100-yo oak trees downed by recent storms. After Gillette's death in 1932, the property went to MGM director Clarence Brown who added an airstrip for his A-list guests to land for parties. In 1952, Bob Hope gifted the estate to the Catholic Church and a seminary dorm was constructed. Over the next five decades it passed to other religious organizations until a combo of the National Park Service, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, and the California State Parks bought it and opened it for public use in 2007. The land or the newest dorm (pictured) may look vaguely familiar because in 2008 NBC'S The Biggest Loser began filming here. Barbara and I hiked for about an hour then—the big payoff—spent another hour in the amazing Anthony C. Beilenson Visitor Center located in the former stable/barn, the first "net zero" (zero energy) visitor center in the National Park Service—a fun, fun, fun interactive center with maps, photos, replicas, and sensory experiences of the wildlife and resources of the Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area. Great learning experience for adults and kids. Loved this place.