Mount Lowe

Mount Lowe is a mountain summit in the San Gabriel Mountains rising to 5603 feet in Los Angeles County. The peak looks out over the Los Angeles Basin and toward the Pacific Ocean.

The peak took its name from Professor Thaddeus Lowe, who built the Mount Lowe Railway from Altadena to the summit in 1893. This rail system allowed thousands to reach the heights easily for many decades.

The area around Mount Lowe was once a popular retreat where visitors enjoyed meals and entertainment at the nearby Echo Mountain House set into the mountainside. This tradition of mountain leisure still shapes how people think about the summit today.

Two main routes reach the summit: the harder Sam Merrill Trail or a shorter path starting from Eaton Saddle. Early morning hikes work best, when temperatures are cooler and visibility is clearest.

Original viewing tubes installed at the summit let visitors identify landmarks across Los Angeles and the surrounding mountains. These tubes remind visitors how the view itself was once treated as something worth studying closely.