Sam Merrill Trail
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sam Merrill Trail | |
|---|---|
 Judge Sam Merrill working on his trail |
|
| Length | 2.55 mi; 4.1 km |
| Trailheads | Top of Lake Avenue in Altadena Echo Mountain |
| Use | Hiking, Biking |
| Highest Point | Echo Mountain Promontory (3,050 ft; 929.64 m) |
| Trail Difficulty | Easy to moderately strenuous |
The Sam Merrill Trail is a major hiking trail in the Las Flores Canyon of the San Gabriel Mountain Range in Altadena, California. It was established by the retired Judge Sam Merrill in 1941. After the deluge of 1938 most the trails which accessed the mountain sides around Echo Mountain and the Mount Lowe Railway had been all but washed away. Merrill found it important to make a public hiking access to the railway ruins and other portions of the treacherous foothills.
The trail originated at the old railway's right of way just above a point called Hygeia Station and climbed by switchback up the steep face of the Echo promontory. In the late 1960s a housing development was established over the trail and the trailhead was moved to an access along side of the Cobb Estate gateway at the top of Lake Avenue.
The portion of the trail which was blazed by Merrill leads an approximate 2 1/2 mile trip directly to Echo Mountain and the ruins of the White City of the Mount Lowe Railway. It is also referred to as Lower Sam Merrill Trail as a section of the Mount Lowe 8, an old mule trail from the days of the Mount Lowe Tavern, was reopened giving a continued hike into Grand Canyon and the site of the Tavern, and is referred to as Upper Sam Merrill Trail.
