Inspiration Point Interpretive Site

Whoa. What a great hike to recondition myself. I hadn't seriously hiked in about 2 years since this trail and boy did I feel it. Hiked this trail mid November. I started 7 a.m. at 2 m.p.h. on the trail leading up to echo mountain and had to shed nearly all my cold weather clothing. Start early and bring at least 2.5 liters of water. You will need the shade and hydration. Continued on castle canyon trail to reach inspiration. Castle canyon is the steeper trail but it is shorter and provides the most shade. Such a profound experience being in the middle of a mountain forest and being 10 feet away from a family of deer. The views from the top of the San Gabriel valley are all worth the sweat and effort.

The site is a hub of multiple trails, among which Castle Canyon trail and Sam Merrell trail (via Rock of Relief) are both popular trials and both connect to Echo Mountain (white ruins).
A very nice lookout and provides different scenes in different seasons. Good hiking shoes are highly recommended.

Fairly short easy hike. A lot of exposure so be careful on hot days. Take the trail in and fire road out.

Nice view at the top to have a breezy picnic in the pagoda structure thing. Not many people come all the way up here. The loud casual hikers in the first few miles stop at Echo Mountain, so when you turn onto the discreet trail up to Inspiration Point, you have it mostly to yourself. I saw only 4 people while going up, then had the pagoda alone, and saw 4 or 5 while coming down. A bit creepy near the water part which was lower, darker, and cooler, but if you enjoy lone hiking, you would love it. There is one place where the trail stops at a turn, and you need to get up a big sloped rock to continue the trail. Not bad but a bit of a surprise. No cover on the last few miles up. Best to go up when the top is still covered in clouds, then wait for it to clear. Else it can get very hot.