Inspiration Point in Will Rogers State Historic Park

HMMM thinking about making this my first walk in June ...

Inspiration Point  in Will Rogers State Historic Park

 Trail Rating:

 

In addition to a rare polo field, renown ranch house, and a lawn that begs to be picnicked on, Will Rogers State Historic Park has plenty to offer to hikers. Will Rogers SHP is also home to a delightful short hike to a popular overlook. The loop to Inspiration Point is 2.25 miles long with 325 feet of elevation gain. The gradual hike delivers far reaching views from Santa Monica Bay to downtown LA.

From the parking lot just beyond the park gate (where a $12 entrance fee is charged), find the trail heading up the mountainside to the left of the fenced-in tennis courts, located west of the ranch house and ranger office. After a quick tenth of a mile up a switching single track, you will reach a wide dirt service road, Inspiration Point Loop Trail. Across the way, the single track continues up the mountainside, while the road heads gradually to the west, taking in views over Santa Monica Bay. Inspiration Point Loop Trail meets back up with the single track after 0.4 miles, and those pressed for time can cut that distance in half by taking the narrower steeper trail.

 

Turn left, wrapping around a draw in the mountainside on Inspiration Point Loop Trail. There are two benches along the road, placed at optimum viewing spots. The first looks south over the polo field and Santa Monica. The second sits at the western end of the loop to offer a closer view of the Pacific. Peer over a split in Rivas Canyon before following a bend in the trail to the northeast. Past the top of the aforementioned single track, you will come to another junction with a trail breaking off to the right. There are arrows for Inspiration Point in both directions! It is another quarter mile up Inspiration Point Loop Trail to the overlook, or you can turn down this single track, which crosses a chaparral-covered depression to reach the point after 0.4 miles. Both routes lead to inspiration.

 

Following the road, you get more nice views of the higher mountains to the north before coming to a split. Veer right up a spur trail that wraps around a short rise to reach Inspiration Point at an elevation of 750 feet. Century City rises above the cityscape to the southeast just in front of downtown Los Angeles. To the southwest, the ocean curls around Santa Monica Bay. There are nice view to the north as well, toward the Santa Monica Mountains capped by the 2,126-foot Temescal Peak. On this hike, inspiration is reached in less than a mile.

Continue the loop by heading back down to the trail split. Hike north a couple hundred feet to a well displayed park trail map. The Backbone Trail breaks off to the left, while the loop continues to the right. To extend this hike, consider trekking a mile up the Backbone Trail, gaining another 400 feet to a peak that offers an even loftier view. Beyond the trail map, Inspiration Point Loop Trail heads east. Hike straight through a junction with a service road heading down to Will Rogers Ranch (unless you want to turn here and cut things off early), and proceed to the eastern edge of the loop. Spot mansions at the top of Sullivan Ridge to the east as you reach a line of eucalyptus bordering the trail. This is the first real shade along the loop, which provides a charming canopy for the remainder of the hike. Progress 0.4 miles down the hillside to the bottom of the trail next to a large green lawn (that is actually a golf course). This is an great place for a picnic and a game of catch. Follow the trail along the top of the field and behind the Will Rogers House to complete the loop and return to your vehicle.

 

 

To get to the trailhead: Take Sunset Boulevard to Will Rogers State Park Road, located 4.5 miles west of the 405 and three miles east of PCH. At the light, turn north on Will Rogers State Park Road. Drive 3/4 of a mile up the mountainside to the park entrance. Pull past the gate and park in the lot on the left.

Trailhead address: 1501 Will Rogers State Park Road, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
Trailhead coordinates: 34.054774, -118.510087 (34° 03′ 17.18″N 118° 30′ 36.31″W)

***I will have to post pictures

M*A*S*H --- our view of the hike

I can not tell a lie, there were times in this hike that I didn't think that I was going to make it to the site, the first hill is a doozy .. but once you get past that the rest was a piece of cake :)

This hike is in a state park, which means that there is an entrance fee. We paid $12 and we did this in 2015 (let see in a few years how much prices will be) I don't mind paying the price as it helps the parks and provides wonderful places for us to hike. We finally arrived, it was Tim, Taylor and myself in our car and Kim, Destiny and Otto in their car. We had a bit of a hard time finding the entrance, I guess relying on cache placement isn't the best way to get their. When we paid to get in we got a great map of the park and the ranger told us where to park and where the trail head was, guess this will be a busy place. The best part of the park is that there is real bathrooms and to me that is important I am not a fan of peeing in the wild and I like to wash my hands after I potty so porta potties are not my favorite things. Okay lets go!!! We took the high road because it was suppose to be shadier and longer, but that is okay a little shade is better than no shade, and it was on the hotter side the day we did the hike. A little way into the hike and we found porta potties and the visitor center, where the children were able to touch the furs of many animals and I was able to get a medallion of my walking stick (you know the important parts of the trip, souveniors), please take cash as they do not have a working atm machine :( ... lets keep walking and no playing in the streams, something about a toad that is making the water unhealthy, but no worries I am on a walk and I am packed with plenty of water and snacks, just incase I get lost LOL

WE MADE IT!!!! I love M*A*S*H

 There were many signs like this around the area telling you were the original set had been and what you were looking at :)

 Group shot

 Picture from the area where the helicopters would land.

My collage of pictures, the little shed area had lots of pictures of what the site looked like in the days of filming

 Tim ... this picture is taken from the helicopter pad, and the tent area is where the mess tent use to be, there are trash cans and picnic tables, we stopped and had a bite to eat!

 WHERE OH WHERE DO WE WANNA GO NEXT????????????

M*A*S*H Lives! Malibu Creek State Park

***A second hike in May 2015 will lead me here .. I am so excited!!!!***
M*A*S*H Lives!

Malibu Creek State Park is proud to be home to the outdoor set of television's legendary program M*A*S*H. The site still draws visitors from all over the world decades after the show left the air.

The park is the former location ranch of 20th Century Fox studios who owned the land between 1946 and 1974. They shot many films and television programs here including M*A*S*H between 1972 - 1983.

M*A*S*H was a deft blend of drama and comedy was just enough to take the minds of millions of Americans off of what was really happening on the other side of the Pacific during the Vietnam War era. M*A*S*H grew to become a landmark television series that garnered over 100 Emmy nominations during its eleven season, 251 episode run.

Shooting M*A*S*H on location was much like a real M.A.S.H. unit would operate. Electricity was sourced from powerful generators, water came from tanker trucks and bathroom facilities weren't much more than porta-potties such as those commonly found at construction sites (although they were definately a step up from the latrines on the show). On a M*A*S*H 30th Anniversary special that aired in 2002, Alan Alda (“Hawkeye”) observed that shooting at the Fox Ranch added to the realism of a show set amongst daily hardship and making do in minimal conditions.

The Restoration

Over the years, Nature began to reclaim the famous set. An ambulance left behind by the studio became so shrouded in wild bush that it could not be seen by visitors standing just by a few feet away.


Recognizing that M*A*S*H is still beloved worldwide and that visitors come from from all over America, Europe and Asia to see the set, in 2007, State Parks officials authorized an environmentally sensitive, partial restoration of the set that cleared some of the overgrowth and made it easier to see where tents and buildings were placed during the show. The vehicle road to the helipad was restored and is now the shortest hiking trail in the park. 


Now on display are a recreation of the iconic signpost, and informational panels with photographs from the show.

M*A*S*H was almost cancelled after its first season due to low ratings.  It became very popular in season two.

Shade at the Set!!  There is finally shade at the M*A*S*H site for the first time so you can eat in comfort where the mess tent was on the TV series.  Enjoy!