Alabama Hills Owens Valley Road Trip Mobius Arch

You don’t want to miss Alabama Hills Owens Valley; visit points of interest.

Take a drive in the Alabama Hills’ “movie flats” and walk in the footsteps of the Lone Ranger, Russell Crowe, Gene Autry, and Mel Gibson. Or enjoy the natural beauty of one of California’s most delightfully weird outdoor destinations while hiking, biking, or climbing.

Located in the Owens Valley at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Alabama Hills’ spectacularly unique sunburned granite rock formations and arches have become the quintessential western landscape.

Alabama Hills History

The Alabama Hills got its name from prospectors living and mining in the area during the Civil War. When news reached California about the Confederates’ warship’s victories, the CSS Alabama miners supporting the South named their claims in the ship’s honor.

Even though Union forces sunk the ship in 1864, the name “Alabama Hills” stuck.

On May 24, 1969, the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) designated 30,000 acres west of Lone Pine, CA, as the “Alabama Hills Recreation Area.”

The unique rock formations of the Alabama Hills not only make a stunning playground for geologists and tourists alike, but they have also proved to be a perfect set of movies.

Since the early 1920s, hundreds of TV shows and movies have featured the area’s distinctive arches, oddly-rounded rocky hills, and breathtaking views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Things to Do Alabama Hills

The Alabama Hills is a perfect destination for movie buffs, geology experts, and outdoor enthusiasts. Take a self-guided driving tour along Movie Flat Road, leading you to places like Gene Autry Rock and the Lone Ranger Ambush Site.

The “Movie Flats” also offers scenery recognizable from movies like Iron Man and Gladiator for the younger generations.

As tantalizing as walking through former movie sets, so is experiencing the Alabama Hills’ unparalleled natural beauty.

Centuries of wind, snow, and sandstorms have weathered the area’s granite hills, resulting in uniquely rounded rock formations and arches. The most famous of these arches is a fifteen-minute roundtrip walk along the Alabama Hills Arch Nature Trail.

Mobius Arch

The Mobius Arch (also known as the Alabama Hills Arch and the Movie Road Arch).

Its smooth, fluid contours form an oval that perfectly frames Mount Whitney in the background, making it the most photogenic of the Alabama Hills’ arches.

Heart Arch

Heart Arch can be viewed from the parking area for the Mobius Arch trail. It is possible to hike to Heart Arch; however, the closer you get, the less it looks like a heart.

The “Mt Whitney Trail” begins at the Alabama Hills’ Whitney Portal for the more intrepid hikers.

The 22-mile roundtrip hike makes for a grueling day hike but is well worth it for those eager to claim bragging rights on climbing the tallest mountain in the continental United States.

With much of the trail at an elevation of 13,600 feet, it is not a hike to be taken lightly despite being trendy.

There is also rock climbing, with incredible rock formations and spectacular mountains. The granite is good quality, the weather is phenomenal, and most climbs are 100 feet high or less.

This makes it a fun destination for beginner and expert climbers alike. The most popular sites include the Whitney Cave, Cattle Pocket, Alabama Dome, Dinosaur Cracks, Pillar of Toth, and the Poodle Wall.

Camping Alabama Hills

Stay at the Tuttle Creek Campground for those who want to spend every possible moment amongst the Alabama Hills’ rock formations and ghosts of movies past.

Visitors can also camp anywhere in the Alabama Hills Recreation Area up to 14 days a year, but campers not in a designated campground are asked to carry out everything and leave no trace.

Getting to Alabama Hills

The Alabama Hills are 220 miles from Los Angeles. This trip is best enjoyed with at least a one-night stopover.

Directions from Lone Pine: take US 395 to the town of Lone Pine and turn east onto Whitney Road. The visitors’ center, where information and a map of the Recreation Area are located a mile down the road.

Turn right onto Movie Flat Road, which is paved for about a mile and then turns into a dirt road. To view Mobius Arch, turn right where the road splits, and there are a parking lot and trail that leads to the famous arch.

Nearby Attractions Alabama Hills

Eastern California Museum Independence, CA

The Eastern California Museum is one of the few places where you can find pictures of Owens Dry Lake when it still had water.

At one time, the lake covered 100 square miles and was over fifty feet at its deepest point. Outside the Eastern California Museum, visitors will delight in walking through Little Pine Village.

More California High Sierra Day Trips 

Northern California Hidden Gems

Arches National Park