Alabama Hills
Lone Pine (Hwy 395, base of the Sierra crest) · near Lone Pine · Eastern Sierra
Rock Climbing · Off-Road · Stargazing
At a glance
- Skill level
- all-levels
- Grade range
- V0–V10 bouldering · 5.6–5.12 routes · Hundreds of problems and routes
- Best season
- Fall, winter, spring · Lower elevation than Bishop, so often climbable when the Gorge is cold · Summer hot
- Skill level
- beginner
- Size
- 30,000 acres BLM · Movie Road main loop 5.7 miles · Additional spur trails
- Best season
- Year-round · Best spring and fall · Summer mornings before heat · Sierra Nevada backdrop most dramatic in morning and late afternoon light
- Best season
- Spring–fall for Milky Way; clear winter nights are stunning but cold
Permits and booking
- Permit
- No climbing permit for the Alabama Hills (National Scenic Area). Designated dispersed camping only. NOTE: the adjacent Mt. Whitney Zone (Whitney, Keeler Needle, Mt. Russell) requires a permit and WAG bags for any entry — a separate, quota-controlled world.
- Permit
- No permit. Free BLM Recreation Area. No off-highway vehicle fee or California Green Sticker required for street-legal vehicles using established routes. Dispersed camping free — 14-day limit. No campfires in dry conditions — check BLM fire regulations before camping.
What is here
- Terrain
- overland · desert-wash
- Highlights
- milky-way · astrophoto
- Landscape
- mountain
- Amenities
- Iconic Mobius Arch foreground · Mt. Whitney & Sierra-crest backdrop · Easy roadside dirt access · Free dispersed BLM camping
- Best for
- Iconic arch-and-Sierra astrophotography
- Features
- Milky Way through natural arches · Mt. Whitney backdrop · Easy roadside access · Free dispersed camping
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
- Hazards
- Some light from nearby Lone Pine · Cold nights year-round at altitude · Rough dirt roads & uneven terrain — bring red light · Popular — respect other photographers & campers
- Beginner friendly
- Yes
Rock Climbing detail
- Nickname
- Climbing Under Mt. Whitney's Shadow
- Climb types
- bouldering · trad · sport
- Rock type
- Weathered granite (rounded, orange-tan)
- Route count
- Hundreds of boulder problems and routes across the National Scenic Area
- Signature routes
- Movie Road bouldering · The arches & formations
- First timer note
- The Alabama Hills are as much a scenic experience as a climbing one — the rounded orange granite amid the flat Owens Valley, with Whitney and the Sierra crest looming, has starred in hundreds of films (the Lone Pine Film History Museum tells the story). A gentle, gorgeous place to boulder or learn.
- Intl tip
- Lone Pine is the gateway to Mt. Whitney and the southern Eastern Sierra. The Alabama Hills pair with the Whitney Portal (hiking/mountaineering), the Lone Pine Film History Museum, and the drive up to 8,000ft at Whitney Portal for a burger at the store. Movie Road is the scenic-drive heart of the area.
Off-Road detail
- Nickname
- The Movie Road
- Vehicles
- 4x4-jeep · overland
- Signature routes
- Movie Road Loop (5.7 miles, easy) · North Alabama Hills Vista Spurs · Moffat Ranch Road
- Intl tip
- The Museum of Western Film History in Lone Pine is free and covers the 400+ productions filmed in the Alabama Hills since the 1920s. The gift shop sells location maps that identify the exact boulder groupings used in specific scenes — the natural arch used in Django Unchained, the canyon used in Gunga Din, and dozens more. A genuinely interesting film history experience embedded in one of California's most spectacular desert landscapes.
Stargazing detail
- Designation
- informal
- Reach
- roadside
- Darkness
- 4
- Sky notes
- A dreamscape of rounded granite boulders and natural arches beneath the soaring Sierra crest — the Milky Way framed through Mobius Arch above Mt. Whitney is one of California's most iconic astrophotography shots, all on easy roadside dirt
- Stats note
- ~Bortle 2–3; natural arches with Mt. Whitney & the Sierra crest as backdrop
- Campground
- Yes
- Intl tip
- A dreamscape of rounded granite boulders and natural arches beneath the soaring Sierra crest near Lone Pine — the Milky Way through Mobius Arch above Mt. Whitney (highest peak in the Lower 48) is one of California's most iconic astrophotography shots. Remarkably accessible on easy dirt roads, with free dispersed camping among the rocks; skies ~Bortle 2–3. A little light from Lone Pine; cold nights year-round at altitude; rough dirt roads and uneven terrain (bring a red light). Popular — respect other photographers and campers.
The guide
The Alabama Hills, a jumble of rounded, orange-tan granite boulders and arches at the foot of Mt. Whitney near Lone Pine, are o…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Alabama Hills — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.606, -118.118