Lone Pine & Alabama Hills
Southern Owens Valley · near Lone Pine · Eastern Sierra
Gravel & Bikepacking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Best season
- Spring & fall (hot summers, cold nights)
What is here
- Terrain
- desert
- Amenities
- Iconic Alabama Hills boulders · Beneath Mount Whitney · Movie-history landscape · BLM camping galore
- Best for
- Cinematic, accessible high-desert gravel
- Features
- Surreal golden rock formations · Framed by Mount Whitney · Famous movie-location scenery · Easy BLM camping & access
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Sun & heat exposure · Sandy/washboard sections · Scarce water · Some vehicle/tourist traffic
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Gravel & Bikepacking detail
- Ride types
- day-gravel · adventure
- Surface
- rough
- Remoteness
- 2
- Riding
- Rolling dirt roads through the surreal golden boulders of the Alabama Hills, framed by Mount Whitney and the Sierra crest — cinematic high-desert riding
- Terrain note
- 3,700–5,000 ft high desert; decomposed-granite roads; big exposure
- Camping
- Yes
- Intl tip
- Surreal golden-boulder landscape west of Lone Pine, beneath Mount Whitney (highest peak in the lower 48). Rolling dirt roads wind through the famous movie-location rock formations — accessible, cinematic high-desert riding on decomposed granite. Approachable (good for newer riders) with abundant free BLM camping among the rocks. High-desert sun, sandy washboard, scarce water — come prepared. Lone Pine for supplies. Unforgettable scenery.
- Trip lengths
- day
The guide
The Alabama Hills, just west of Lone Pine, are one of the most photogenic landscapes in California — a jumble of rounded golden…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Lone Pine & Alabama Hills — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.6, -118.06