Hiking to Inspiration Point at Will Rogers State Historic Park

It’s been a minute, hasn’t it? it’s funny. When the pandemic started I thought, “I’m going to keep on writing, keep on sharing things so that people will have plenty of options once this is all over.” Then that dang coronavirus didn’t go away. As the weeks (and months) stretched on I got a mean case of the covid blues and didn’t want to write at all. After all, I wasn’t going anywhere or doing anything so what was the point? Honestly, I’m still not quite sure what the point is but I’m going to give it the good college try. I’ve put too many years into this blog to let a stupid pandemic make me throw in the towel. And I’m starting to get back out there albeit in a limited and socially distanced fashion. So, I’ll try to share some things that can make this weird weird time a little more pleasant. First up, some good old fashioned exercise with a nice hike at Will Rogers State Historic Park.

In the early days of this site I shared my first visit to Will Rogers State Historic Park where I enjoyed a lovely tour of the famed folk hero’s ranch house. As things are now the house is temporarily closed but I highly recommend taking a tour when it reopens – it’s really a beautiful home and you’ll learn a lot about one of the 20th century’s famed figures.

Will Rogers State Historic Park is located in Pacific Palisades and is nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains. This prime location offers plenty of back-country that’s ripe for exploring and the park offers numerous trails for both the casual and seasoned hiker. I’m somewhere in the middle so I decided to take an afternoon and hike the 2 mile Inspiration Point Loop.

The trail starts just beyond the house and loops around a small hill until you reach Inspiration Point which offers a panoramic view of the surrounding area. I happened to visit on a warm, but not hot, afternoon and brought my favorite companion to enjoy the trek with me.

Yes, the Inspiration Point Loop is dog friendly and my faithful companion thoroughly enjoyed our hike. The trail climbs gradually uphill and travels through a surprisingly varied landscape. At times it’s a wide thoroughfare through coastal sagebrush and at other times it’s a narrow path under a canopy of trees.

Though it can appear isolated it’s a popular trail and we came across several other hikers (both two and four footed) on our journey (but not too many so that it became uncomfortable).

I thoroughly enjoyed the wander before I even got to the big payoff – Inspiration Point.

From here you can see for miles depending on the air quality, of course. Luckily, we visited on a lovely clear afternoon and enjoyed a beautiful vista. It was so nice I almost forgot the state of the world. Almost.

If you’re looking for something to do that’s safe yet offers some nice scenery and a good dose of exercise I highly recommend heading to Will Rogers State Historic Park and hiking the trails. And once things get back to normal be sure to return so you can tour the beautiful historic ranch house.