Alabama Hills

U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Alabama Hills Recreation and National Scenic Area Map & Guide The Alabama Hills are a formation of rounded rocks and eroded hills set between the jagged peaks of the Sierra Nevada and the Owens Valley. The hills consist of nearly 30,000 acres of public land located west of Lone Pine that are managed by the Bureau of Land Management. In March 2019, Congress designated 18,610 acres of the Alabama Hills as a National Scenic Area. Care for and Enjoy the Alabama Hills The indigenous people of this valley still reside in this place where their ancestors have lived for thousands of years. They ask that you respect and care for this land. • Pack out all trash. There are no trash services. In the high desert environment, even natural items like orange peels take years to decompose. • Travel on existing roads and trails. Vegetation in this climate can take decades to recover when crushed by off road driving or parking. • Camp in campgrounds. Using campgrounds reduces the number of vehicles, so that the great views are not blocked. • Use the restroom in town or at nearby campgrounds. If that isn’t an option, bury human waste in catholes 6 inches deep and 200 feet away from water, trails and camp. There are no restrooms in the hills. • Have a great time. The Alabama Hills are a great place to explore natural wonders and experience your public lands. Photographer capturing Mobius Arch by Jim Pickering, Cover photo of photographers by Bob Wick Tent site at Tuttle Creek Campground near sunset by Josh Hammari Day Use The Alabama Hills is a small Recreation and National Scenic Area best suited for day use. Here are just a few things you can do: Explore the locations of over 400 • Take pictures. The Alabama Hills scenery has been an inspiration for photographers for decades. rock climb, explore • Have an adventure. natural arches, mountain bike, ride horses, view the Overnight Use Tuttle Creek Campground, located within the National Scenic Area, offers more than 80 sites for affordable camping with spaces for tents, RVs, and trailers. The campground boasts views of Mt. Whitney, and has large campsites with plenty of space for longer vehicles. Drinking water and restrooms are available. Tuttle Creek birding opportunities. Camping is also available at the Portagee Joe Campground just to the east of the Alabama Hills and the Lone Pine Campground on the Whitney Portal Road. Camping in campgrounds helps maintain the area’s great scenery and recreational opportunities. City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power lands in the area are open for day use only. Photo from The Lawless Range courtesy of Beverly and Jim Rogers Museum of Western Film History Film & Television an interest in the Alabama Hills for its natural scenery. Movie stars such as Tom Mix, Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, and the Lone Ranger, shot it out with outlaws. Classics such as Gunga Din, Yellow Sky, and How the West Was Won 1990 Sci-Fi classic Tremors on location in the Alabama Hills. During 1993, portions of Maverick Star Trek Generations, Gladiator, Iron Man, and Django Unchained Find a copy of the Movie Road Touring Brochure online or at the Museum of Western Film History in Lone Pine. Each October, the community of Lone Pine hosts the Lone Pine Film Festival. This festival features speakers, The hills were named after the C.S.S. Alabama, a Confederate warship responsible for wreaking havoc during the Civil War. Prospectors sympathetic to the Confederate cause named their mining claims after the Alabama and eventually the name stuck. Geology The rounded, oddly shaped contours of the Alabama Hills form a sharp contrast to the glacially carved ridges of the Sierra Nevada. While both land forms consist of the same granitic rock, the fantastic shapes of the hills were formed by a combination of natural chemical weathering and wind erosion. Mobius Arch Eye of the Alabama The Corridors Red-tailed hawk Townsend’s big-eared bat Desert needlegrass Barrel cactus Wildlife Chuckwalla lizard Plants Scarlet milk-vetch Alabama Hills with Mt. Whitney in the distance by David Kirk y wa gh Hi BLM Public Lands Private Lands Maintained Road (suitable for passenger cars) M Te ch n Unmaintained Road Multi-Use Trail 0.5 fa of d hR nc a tR 395 Chic Chick ken Ranch (Moffat Ranch Road Area) Technical 4 Movie Site O w e ns Geologic Feature/Arch WD Riv er Information Lo Man of Steel uct s Aqued ngele sA Campground Point of Interest bac Hog Iron Man Inset map on re reverse 1872 Ear Earthqua thquak ke Fault Scarp vie Mo Portagee Joe Campground Whitne Whitn ey Portal Road Horseshoe M Gunga Din Temple Site ow Tuttle Creek Road d oa sR Tuttle Creek Campground Film History Histor Museum Lone Pine Reser Reservation 136 Visitor Center ead Inyo National Forest Lone Pine Information Kiosk ad Ro Lone Pine Campground 2 Miles WD ical 4 Trail d kR 1 5 39 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Lands 0 Don’t Crush the Brush Desert plants keep the soil healthy and provide homes and food for wildlife. While these plants are specially adapted for their environment, they can be destroyed easily if walked on or run over by a vehicle. Stick to designated trails and roads to keep your public lands healthy. The Bureau of Land Management and the Alabama Hills Stewardship Group care for this area with the goal of keeping the hills in as close to a natural state as possible for the enjoyment of present and future generations. In an Emergency • Call 9-1-1 • Inyo County Sheriff (760) 878-0383 • Nearest hospital: Southern Inyo Hospital (760) 876-5501 501 East Locust Street, Lone Pine, CA For More Information: Bureau of Land Management 351 Pacu Lane, Suite 100 Bishop, CA 93514 (760) 872-5000 https://www.blm.gov/california Subscribe to News.bytes, our weekly e-newsletter https://www.blm.gov/media/magazinesand-newsletters/california-newsbytes BLM/CA/GI-2015/007+8300+1115 REV 2019 Creating new45roads and trails 00 harms the landscape and is illegal. 00 52 Ro ad 00 46 4700 0 460 480 0 M ov ie Most roads in this area are unpaved and require 4-wheel drive. Spring and fall are the most 440 0 popular seasons. 00 49 5000 4500 Recreation and National Scenic Area Be sure to bring plenty of water. Remember to leave plants, rocks, and artifacts as you found them for others to discover. 00 4800 50 4800 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Lands Have a great time! 4900 Eye of the Alabama BLM Public Lands 4100 4300 44 0and Travel on existing roads trails. 0 Don’t park on vegetation. 0 5100 Alabama Hills 00 500 Travel Tips 4600 42 To Moffat Ranch Road 4900 and U.S. 395 (6 miles) U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management 7/12/2019 1:22:55 PM 450 0 4800 Mobius Arch Maintained Road (suitable for passenger cars) 44 00 nical 4W ch Geologic Feature/Arch 45 00 00 How the West Was Won Bowling Ball and Pins The Loaf Movie Site 0 46 0 46 Rock Climbing Area vie Mo 4900 Tall Wall 5000 D 4W Motor Bike Trail 52 Parking Paul’s Paradise 00 4600 Lone Ranger Canyon Technical 4WD Cattle Pocket Arastra (Yellow Sky) 55 00 00 56 D Tech nical 4W 00 47 0 0 530 00 54 N Seven Men from Now 00 48 Django Unchained 00 430 5500 1 Mile 0 440 46 4500 Bicycle Trail 4600 4500 Corridors Parking 4900 51 00 480 4500 0 Horseback Riding ad Ro Hiking/Trailhead nical Tech 0 Te 00 5200 Arch Loop Trailhead 43 Tremors 1.5 Mile D 540 Multi-Use Trail Trail 2 Miles Gunga Din Bridge Site Unmaintained Road 5300 46 00 Private Lands 5700 4200 0 0.5 430 1 Miles No Camping and 0 No Campfires 0.5 Mile Shark’s Fin and and Mov ie R oad Start Mile 0 No Campfires No Campfires 00 46 0 and No Campfires 4500 4400 4400 00 4900 No Camping 43 00 51 No warranty is made by the Bureau of Land Management. The accuracy, reliability or completeness of these data for individual use or aggregate use with other data is not guaranteed. 00 46 4400 4400 AlabamaHills_brochure_16x18_2019.indd 2 and 45 No Camping 4700 To Lone Pine (2.7 miles) & Portagee Joe Campground (2.4 miles) Whitney Portal Road 0 No Campfires To Tuttle Creek Campground (1.6 miles) Lo e Creek ne Pin No Camping Horseshoe Meadows Road To Whitney Portal (9 miles) & Lone Pine Campground (4.4 miles) No Camping