How to Hike Inspiration Point Trail, Chiricahua National Monument

Inspiration Point Trail in Chiricahua National Monument is a wonderful hike that takes hikers to, yes you guessed it, Inspiration Point viewpoint. This hike won’t get you up close and personal with the rock formations like the Echo Canyon Grottoes Trail, however, it gives you some expansive views of pretty much all of Chiracahua National Monument. From Inspiration Point’s viewpoint, you can see dramatic views of the fields of standing rocks in multiple directions. It was quite interesting. You can hike to Inspiration Point as an out-and-back trail or as part of the Big Loop Trail.

Note: Please make sure to respect this beautiful place and the surrounding areas. Always practice LEAVE NO TRACE. This means no loud music, no graffiti, no taking artifacts or fossilized items, and pack out what you pack in! Please help us protect this place for generations to come!

Stats

Where

Echo Canyon Loop Trailhead
32.012000, -109.315917

Parking

Decent sized, paved parking lot in front of the trailhead

Restroom

There are vault toilets at the trailhead

Fee

It is free to enter!

Distance

5.2 mile R.T.

Elevation Gain

1,043 ft

Level

Moderate toward difficult (due to the length and drop in elevation)

Time:

2.5 – 4 hours

Pet-friendly

Dogs aren’t allowed on this trail

Ideal Time

This trail is beautiful to hike at any time. However, since there are minimal shades along the hike, we recommend hiking this during the cooler times such as morning or evening.

Weather

Video

Getting to the Trailhead

To get to Inspiration Point, you can either use the Echo Canyon or the Massai Point trailheads. They are both located along Bonita Canyon Drive, the only road inside Chiricahua National Monument. The distance is about the same from either trailhead. We started our hike from Echo Canyon Trailhead.

The Start of the Trail

The hike to get to Inspiration Point can be a bit confusing because you have to use multiple connection trails to get there. However, there are always clear signages at every junction so you won’t get lost. We started our hike using the Echo Canyon Loop Trailhead, which is located at the end of the parking lot. After a short distance from the parking lot, we came upon the first junction. Here, we stayed straight (left), to follow signs for the Ed Riggs Trail. The first mile of the trail to Inspiration Point is mostly downhill.

Even though the trails are well-defined, the Chiricahua National Monument does a wonderful job of leaving out most of their characteristics. This means that the trails can be rugged and rocky at times so make sure to wear good hiking shoes and watch your steps. At about 0.3 miles from the parking lot, we came upon another junction. Here, we went right to continue to follow the Ed Riggs Trail. If you’re starting from the Massai Point Trailhead, this is where you’ll be joining up.

The Ed Riggs Trail Section

The first part of the Ed Riggs Trail toward Inspiration Point is between tall pine trees and shrubberies. As we hiked further, we could see tall hoodoos looming ahead. Soon, we encountered really cool rock columns that reminded us of the tail of a wasp. It was kind of cool, framing in between the two tall trees on the trail.

After this point, the trail starts to get interesting. There are massive rock walls and interesting rock columns littered through the trail. At about 1 mile, the Ed Riggs Trail ends at the bottom of a short stone staircase, where the third junction is located. The view from here was quite beautiful. We got to see the massive amount of rock columns, spreading all over the valley floor. From this junction, we went left to follow the sign for Mushroom Rock Trail to Inspiration Point.

The Mushroom Rock Trail Section

The Mushroom Rock Trail descends down for a short distance before ascending back up. This is where you’ll be gaining back all the elevation from earlier, and more. We were breathing very heavily at this junction. Don’t forget to look at the view on the right-hand side of the rock. About halfway on the Mushroom Rock Trail, you could see Mushroom Rock, far away on the right-hand side. Don’t worry, there is a sign for it on the trail just in case you didn’t see it.

Inspiration Point Trail

After 1.2 miles on Mushroom Rock Trail, we came to the last junction. This is where you’ll want to go right for Inspiration Point. Inspiration Point Trail itself is only a 1-mile round trip. As soon as we turned right onto the Inspiration Point trail, we kept climbing up for about ⅔ of the way, then, it’s flatten out until we reached the end. As we hiked, the view started to open up, and soon, we arrived at the viewpoint. The views from here are quite stunning. From this point, we have almost a 360 view of the whole Chiricahua National Monument. It was very interesting to see columns of tall rocks that seemed to go on forever. If you like scrambling, there are a lot of scrambling opportunities here too. This place is especially beautiful during sunset. So if you have a chance, check it out.

When you’re done admiring the view, go back the same way you came from. Now, if you want to add this to the Heart of Rocks or Big Loop, at the last junction, keep going straight, or stay tuned for our next blogs so we can show you the way. Another cool hike here that we recommend is the Echo Canyon Grottoes. If you love stone columns or hoodoos, check out Bryce Canyon. We love the Navajo Loops to Queens Garden Trail there.

These are the gear that we personally use and find them helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.