Los Angeles has ruins too! Seriously, it does!
Atop Mount Lowe, with a magnificent 360-degree view of the San Gabriel Valley, once flourished the now long forgotten turn-of-the-20th-century Echo Mountain Resort. On this six-mile hike to and from the resort’s ruins, you’ll wander by remnants of the funicular that once carried visitors up the side of the mountain. At the summit, pieces of foundation are mostly all that remain for hikers to explore. There’s an excellent photo display depicting the resort in its glorious heyday.
Climbing to the ruins requires hikers to navigate a switchback for 2.5 miles on a clearly marked path that is rustic at best. That is, lots of rocks litter the four-foot-wide trail, and at times you briefly walk alongside a sheer drop, with zero vegetation lining the edge, and no guardrail. On a clear day, the view is extraordinary; you can see all the way to Catalina Island.
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Address Sam Merrill Trailhead, Altadena, CA 91001; trailhead begins where Lake Avenue dead-ends at East Loma Alta Drive, at the entrance to the Cobb Estate | Getting there Unmetered street parking | Hours Daily, sunrise to sunset| Tip Check out the Pasadena Museum of California Art (490 E Union Street, Pasadena, CA 91101). Its focus on the Golden State’s artists, architects, and designers helps bring California’s unique contributions to light.
That view – and the healthful environment of the “White City” – drew people to the world-class resort. From 1893 to 1938, the Mount Lowe railway ascended the side of the mountain at a breathtakingly steep angle. Once at the top, visitors were struck by the sight of the bright white Echo Mountain House. The cozy wood-paneled lobby was graced with a piano and fireplace. The hotel had 70 sleeping rooms and rose to four stories. Around the grounds, guests could enjoy a tennis court, dance hall, small zoo, mule rides, an observatory, and a searchlight so powerful it illuminated homes in the valley below.
In 1900, a fire leveled the hotel. The observatory remained open to visitors until 1928, when powerful winds blew off the top. The Alpine Tavern, built close by, also burned down, 36 years later. By 1938, White City was no more. The visionary behind it, the once extremely wealthy inventor, Thaddeus Lowe, died penniless in his daughter’s home, after sinking his entire fortune into his castle in the sky.
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