Alabama Hills

A collection of unusually shaped granite rock formations and arches on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevadas in the Owens Valley. The rounded rocks of the Alabama Hills make for a stunning contrast to the jagged and snow capped formations of the Sierra Nevadas. Many a photographer seeks out the many arches found in the Alabama Hills for their framing of the mountains above, particularly the popular Mobius Arch which nicely frames Mount Whitney (the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states). Dozens of other beautiful and less visited arches are scattered across the mostly trail-less Hills.

The hills were named after the confederate ship C.S.S. Alabama by Confederate supporting prospectors during the Civil War (after the C.S.S. Alabama was sunk by the U.S.S. Kearsarge during the Battle of Cherbourg there was a surge of area sites named Kearsarge in celebration by Union supporting prospectors).

Even if you’ve never heard of the Alabama Hills they might look familiar due to their popularity as a filming location for television and film, particularly Westerns. Such movies include How the West Was Won, Gunga Din, Bad Day at Black Rock, Tremors, Gladiator, Iron Man and Django Unchained. Film buffs can drive the Movie Road to visit various filming locations and afterwards can pay a visit to the The Museum of Western Film History a few miles away in Lone Pine.