The Sam Merrill trail to Echo Mountain starts at the Cobb Estate which is at the very top of N Lake Avenue where it dead ends at Loma Alta Drive in Altadena.
Distance: 5.4 miles (8.7 km) Difficulty: Hard Total Ascent: 1730 feet Permits: Free
The Echo Mountain hike is an advanced level hike that involves a 1500 ft elevation gain. You’ll hike up the Sam Merrill Trail, which follows the old Mt Lowe railway route up to Echo Mountain, where you can see the old ruins of the Echo Mountain resort that was built in the late 1800’s.
The trail to Echo Mountain is 5.25 miles round trip, and if you hike it around my pace, which is 1 mile every 22 minutes, you can finish the hike in 2 hrs. Most hikers spend time at the top admiring the view and the ruins of the old resort that used to be there, so the hike averages about 2.5 hrs for most people.
3302 Lake Ave, Altadena, CA, 91001, USA.
Parking is free on residential streets around the trailhead. It’s a popular hike so you might have to park a few blocks away.
