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The "Hidden Staircase of Calabasas" actually is visible from the 101 on a slow traffic day and if you know where to look. The 375 steps are numbered every 25th step.
Originally published in 1930, The Hidden Staircase was written by Carolyn Keene, the pseudonym for 28 authors of the Nancy Drew series in the Stratemeyer Syndicate. This particular story was written by Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson for which she was paid $125 to $250. The 2022 value of $125 is estimated at $2,187.84. Mildred wrote 23 of the 56 books published by Grosset & Dunlap. An additional 119 books were published by Simon & Schuster.
The Hidden Staircase in Calabasas was not the inspiration for Mildred's story. Conversely is it possible the Calabasas Staircase or naming it "Hidden" was inspired by a Nancy Drew enthusiast? Despite being in view of anyone standing on a frontage road of the 101 freeway. While Los Angeles was at one time designed to accommodate the hills for trolley riders with some say as many as 450 stairs networking the hills and residences; Calabasas is clearly easily 20 miles from that adventure, although pre-pandemic Calabasas did have a trolley. However, the exit or entrance points were not in the vicinity or correlation to anything a hiker would start or stop a trek to find a hidden staircase. If you want to pursue the secret stairs of Los Angeles there is a Facebook group but they have no reference to anything in Calabasas. https://facebook.com/secretstairs
While every 25th step has been numbered with spray paint, online discussions vary on the total number of steps from 373 to 376. Rochelle Staab offers this explanation, which would put the date of construction of the stairs around 2005 when "The Oaks of Calabasas" were built.
"The top of the staircase (with the last two flights locked behind a gate) ends at Prado De Los Gansos, a street in the ultra-exclusive gated community of The Oaks, so the staircase may have been built as some kind of fire escape or maintenance route by the contractor—but your guess is as good as mine."
The address of the trailhead leading to step number one is suggested as 25169 Calabasas Rd. Calabasas, CA 91302 which is the site of a business, according to a listing on manta "Calabasas Hidden Stairs". Nevertheless, access is a frontage road alongside the 101 freeway and adjacent to a private residence. The reality is Calabasas Road dead ends into a trail head AND there is no parking on that frontage road. What you are looking for is
“Anza Loop Trail” “New Millennium Trail” and “Bark Park Trailhead"
These are separate trails, but they will lead you to the stairs.
The City of Calabasas website has no mention of the stairs, nor does the Santa Monica Mountains National Park website. A search online for details will direct you to reputable hiking groups, local bloggers, and unfortunately a few sites which trigger a "malicious site alert" from most digital security apps.
The reputable information sites discussing the 2.2 mile hike, including the Hidden Stairs, are:
Calabasas Hidden Stairs - California | AllTrails
Calabasas Hidden Stairs - Fruit Stand Fresh
Calabasas Stairs | Los Angeles | Hikespeak.com
Historic Hike to the Calabasas Stairs | Hiking With Dean
And even GrandmaOnTheGo has a youtube discussion:
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