We hiked the Echo Canyon side. Wow. That was tough. I consider myself in average shape. Everyone else on the mountain was in incredible shape and I can see why--this hike is not easy. The sign at the beginning of the hike labels this as a double black diamond, an extremely difficult trail.
It's only 1.5 miles in distance to the summit (roughly 3 miles total), but that's only if you're a superhero who can leap over boulders. My Fitbit showed more than 5 miles and 96 sets of stairs. The official park website said it takes 45 min to hike up and another 45 to come back. It took us about 2 hours to the top and 1 hour back.
There are 38 trail markers. Markers 1-15 or so have dusty trail, wood beam steps (designed for 7 foot giants) and then 2 sets of really steep parts with railings. The fence side of one of the railing sets has steps carved into them. Use them.
After marker 20, things get fun. There are a billion rocks and boulders to climb over to the top. I really enjoyed them, especially because the trail markers were spaced closer together. I felt like we were flying by marker 30.
The view from the summit is fantastic. Coming back down was definitely easier than the climb to the top.
Make sure to bring more water than you think you'll need. I drank the entirety of my 2-liter camelback and an 11oz coconut water during the hike. Then, I drank even more water when we finished.
Also, showing up earlier in the day is much better. The parking lot was busy, but we were able to find a space within 10 minutes. We started our hike at 8:30am. There was a little bit of shade on the first half of the trail both climbing up and back down. I noticed that the rocks and railings started getting a little warm on our descent (11am). I can only imagine how hot they get over the course of the day.