Alabama Hills

The Alabama Hills are a wonderland of granite, their boulders rounded and softened over ages into strange, rolling shapes, and here and there worn clean through into delicate natural arches. The most famous, Mobius Arch, is celebrated for the way it perfectly frames the snowy summits of the Sierra beyond, and it is joined by other arches and countless photogenic rock formations scattered across the hills, reached by short trails and easy scrambles among the stone.

It is the setting that lifts the hills from lovely to sublime. Directly behind them the Sierra Nevada rises in a sudden, sheer wall of granite peaks, crowned by Mount Whitney, and the interplay between the warm foreground rock and the cold, towering mountains is extraordinary, especially at sunrise and sunset when the low sun sets the boulders and the peaks aglow. Photographers travel from around the world for exactly this scene.

Few landscapes have appeared on screen as often as the Alabama Hills. For a century filmmakers have used the hills and their dirt Movie Road as a backdrop, most famously for Westerns, from the singing cowboys and serials of the early days to countless later films, and more recently for big modern productions that have found in the hills a stand-in for everything from the Old West to distant planets. Hundreds of films and television shows have been shot here.

That long movie history is part of the fun of a visit, and the nearby town of Lone Pine celebrates it with a museum devoted to the films made in the hills. Driving the Movie Road and recognizing the rock formations from the screen, or simply feeling the wide cinematic grandeur of the place, connects a visitor to a rich thread of American film history written across this desert landscape.

Long before the cameras came, this valley at the foot of the Sierra was, and remains, the homeland of the Owens Valley Paiute people, who have lived in this country for countless generations and whose connection to the land continues today. The wider Owens Valley carries a long and sometimes difficult human history, and remembering that the beauty here sits within a living cultural landscape adds depth to a visit.

The hills themselves are a fragile place as well as a beautiful one. The arches and boulders are delicate and heavily visited, and the desert soils and plants are easily damaged, so the Alabama Hills are cared for as a Leave No Trace area. Treading lightly, staying on established routes, not climbing on the arches, and packing out everything help protect this much-loved landscape so that it endures for those who come after.

The Alabama Hills are free and open, reached by dirt roads that branch off from the highway near Lone Pine, and they reward unhurried exploration on foot among the boulders and along the short trails to the arches. Dawn and dusk are the finest times, both for the light and for the cooler air, and the dark desert skies make the hills a wonderful place to linger into the night beneath the stars.

This is high desert, so a visit calls for preparation: the sun is intense and the heat can be severe in the warmer months, water is essential, the roads are rough and unpaved, and services are back in town. Come ready, tread gently, and give yourself time, and the Alabama Hills will reward you with some of the most beautiful and quietly cinematic scenery anywhere in California.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.

The Alabama Hills, near Lone Pine in California's Owens Valley, are a scenic area of rounded golden granite boulders and delicate natural arches spread across the desert floor at the foot of the Eastern Sierra Nevada, beneath Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States. The warm, weathered rock in the foreground and the sheer snowy peaks rising behind make for an extraordinary contrast, and the hills are famous both as a backdrop to hundreds of films and as a paradise for photographers, especially for arches like Mobius Arch that frame the peaks. Free, open, and beautiful, they are now a National Scenic Area. Their beauty and film history make them a compelling destination. A magical and cinematic landscape, it enchants visitors. With its arches and peaks, the Alabama Hills offer a compelling destination in California.

The Alabama Hills have been a movie backdrop for about a century, appearing in hundreds of films and television shows, most famously Westerns, from the singing cowboys and serials of the early days to countless later films, and more recently big modern productions that used the hills as a stand-in for everything from the Old West to distant worlds. The dirt Movie Road winds among the very rock formations seen on screen, and the town of Lone Pine celebrates this history with a museum devoted to the films made in the hills. Exploring that film history adds to the fun of a visit to the Alabama Hills in California.

It helps to know that the Alabama Hills are high desert, with intense sun and heat in the warmer months, so plenty of water and sun protection are essential, the access roads are dirt and can be rough, and services are back in the town of Lone Pine. The arches and boulders are fragile and heavily visited, so it is important to tread lightly, stay on established routes, not climb on the arches, and pack out everything, as this is a Leave No Trace area. Dawn and dusk offer the best light and cooler air. Coming prepared and treading gently ensures a rewarding visit to the Alabama Hills in California.

The cooler months of spring and fall are the most comfortable for exploring the Alabama Hills, with mild days ideal for wandering among the boulders and arches, while summer brings intense desert heat that makes early morning and evening the best times to be out, and winter can dust the hills and the peaks behind them with snow for spectacular scenes. Sunrise and sunset are the finest hours in any season for the light on the rock and the Sierra, and the dark skies make for wonderful stargazing. For comfortable weather and beautiful light, aim for spring or fall, at dawn or dusk, in the Alabama Hills of California.

The Alabama Hills are in the Owens Valley near Lone Pine, California, at the foot of Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States, with the Movie Road winding through the hills, the town of Lone Pine and its film museum a few miles east, and Manzanar National Historic Site, a place of remembrance for the Japanese Americans unjustly incarcerated there in World War II, to the north. That makes the Alabama Hills a compelling stop to combine with Mount Whitney, Lone Pine, and the sights of the Eastern Sierra on a visit to California.