Julie and I have done this hike at least three times, but our most recent visits followed one of our earliest hikes here some 7 or 8 years prior, I believe.

We say this is one of the easier hikes even though you'll be walking around 2 miles round-trip from the official car park (you might have to add an additional half-mile or so each way if you have to park in one of the overflow spaces or pullouts). That's because most of the walk is flat and on pavement.

The hike felt really more like a stroll, and if you pay attention to the surroundings, you can get a sense of the tug-of-war Mother Nature has with developers and homeowners.

There's evidence of fires that have run through this canyon in the past (not unusual in the Santa Monica Mountains), but at the same time, you see expensive homes perched atop the ridges overlooking this canyon. Sometimes we wonder if these homes are going to survive the next fire that comes through here.

And in between all that, we managed to see lots of blooming wildflowers on the canyon slopes as well as right besides the mostly paved trail.

At about the half-way point, there's a hunting abode built of tin and stone by Henry Keller in an attempt to thwart destruction by fire. Over the years, it eventually succumbed to fire despite the more fireproof design, and only the supports stand now. A bridge that goes straight to the front of the house is closed, but the road/trail swings around a sturdy concrete bridge towards the backside of the house where you can take a closer look.

Beyond the Henry Keller hunting house, the trail kind of splits up beyond the bridge. But as long as you're following the stream, you should be fine. The path nearest the stream actually crosses it twice in easy boulder hops. But the leftmost path climbs a bit before descending back to where the trails join up once again. The latter path is probably where the well-developed almost-concrete path persists.

At the end of the main trail, you'll see what's left of the home of Fred Roberts who once made his fortune off the Roberts Public Market grocery chain. The home was designed by an African American architect Paul R. Williams who was directed to put all sorts of fireproof features into the design of the home since Roberts encountered many fires here. But it was ultimately destroyed in 1982 after Roberts' death when the property was no longer maintained.

Right behind the remnants of the home is the Solstice Canyon Falls. Given the proximity of the falls, it makes you wonder whether this was like a private waterfall to the Roberts'.

The 30ft diminutive waterfall won't impress jaded waterfallers, but the well-developed path and infrastructure devoted to this area kind of made us scratch our heads (especially for a place that didn't charge a fee as of Spring 2010 and prior) as to how and why this is the case.

That was when we figured out that this trail was probably once a driveway leading to the former home of Fred Roberts (which is why you might see Solstice Canyon Falls referred to as Roberts Ranch Falls, by the way).

Recently, Julie and I took our baby daughter to the falls in a stroller. This should be pretty straightforward if your stroller is one of the more rugged joggers. However, urban strollers (like the one we used) might get a little beat up due to the presence of mud and some of the rougher parts of the trail. Once you're at the burned Roberts home, you'll have to leave the stroller behind in order to reach the waterfall. That's where the trail narrows (with minor dropoffs) while traversing steps. You'll definitely want to exercise caution here if bringing a newborn.