Echo Mountain via Sam Merrill Trail
Altadena (San Gabriel front range) · near Altadena / Pasadena · Los Angeles / SoCal
Trail Running
At a glance
- Difficulty
- strenuous
- Distance
- 5.5 miles
- Elevation gain
- 1,400 ft
- Best season
- Oct–May · dangerous summer heat & fire closures
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No permit. Angeles National Forest front country — free from the Cobb Estate gate in Altadena (no Adventure Pass needed at that trailhead). Check for fire closures.
What is here
- Features
- Ruins of the 'White City' incline railway resort · Front-range San Gabriel singletrack · Views over the entire LA basin · Gateway to Mount Lowe & the historic railway
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- No
Trail Running detail
- Surface
- technical
- Intl tip
- Start at the Cobb Estate gate (top of Lake Ave, Altadena) — free, no Adventure Pass. The San Gabriels are fire-prone; always check Angeles National Forest closures. Continue to Inspiration Point and the Mount Lowe railway ruins for a classic longer loop. Little shade — carry water.
The guide
The Sam Merrill Trail to Echo Mountain is one of Los Angeles's most atmospheric mountain runs — a steep, switchbacking climb up…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Echo Mountain via Sam Merrill Trail — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 34.21, -118.131