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Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, CA

Photo: steveberardi, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sport & OutdoorOutdoor AdventureFree

Alabama Hills

Alabama Hills is an outdoor activity in Lone Pine, CA, part of the Mammoth Lakes and Visalia guide. Cost: free.

Movie Road, 2.5 miles west of Lone Pine on Whitney Portal Road · Lone Pine, CA

Why you should go…

The Alabama Hills are a field of rounded rocks and eroded hills at the foot of the Sierra Nevada, managed by the Bureau of Land Management as a National Scenic Area. You can hike to natural arches such as Mobius Arch, climb or boulder, ride a bike or a horse, and tour the sites of the many films shot here, most of them Westerns. Wildflowers bloom in spring, and the dark night sky draws stargazers. Camping needs a free permit and is first come, first served.

  • #natural arches
  • #film locations
  • #rock climbing
  • #stargazing
  • #scenic drive

What's around here?

The closest stops to Alabama Hills, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Manzanar National Historic Site

    Free

    Tour the site of a World War II camp where more than 11,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated.

    8.1 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Outdoor Adventure

    Mount Whitney

    Under $25

    Hike 22 miles round trip from Whitney Portal to the highest summit in the contiguous United States, with a permit.

    9.5 mi awayMore like this

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Iconic

    Kings Canyon National Park

    $25–$50

    See giant sequoias at Grant Grove, then drive Highway 180 down into a glacier-carved canyon more than a mile deep.

    33 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    General Sherman Tree

    $25–$50

    Walk a paved half-mile trail through Giant Forest to stand at the base of the largest tree on Earth by volume.

    35 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Iconic

    Sequoia National Park

    $25–$50

    Walk among giant sequoias, stand at the base of the General Sherman Tree and climb the stairway up Moro Rock.

    36 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    Outdoor Adventure

    Bishop

    Free

    Eastern Sierra gateway town near Mammoth Lakes with access to hiking, fishing and Bishop Creek Canyon.

    55 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing