Scenic 395 - The Official Guide 2025

2025 Scenic 395 29 Lone Pine Alabama Hills remains at the top of the Bucket List Local photographer Chet Steele shared these photos he took while visiting the Alabama Hills. Photo courtesy of Chet Steele By Darla A. Baker For Scenic 395 Three of the most memorable filming scenes captured during the hey day of old westerns featured the Alabama Hills in the backdrop. Located off Whitney Portals Road near Lone Pine, the Ala- bama Hills is where the Lone Ranger was ambushed, Roy Rogers found his trusted horse, Trigger, and that rascal Gene Autry serenaded many cowgirls on the silver screen. Filming directors first fell in love with the Alabama Hills back in the 1920s and continue to use the unique and surreal landscape as a backdrop in movies, commercials and television shows today. Each year, Lone Pine celebrates its western heritage by host- ing the Lone Pine Film Festival featuring the Alabama Hills. The Lone Pine FilmMuseum offers guided tours of the area where visitors can get a first-hand glimpse of the many sites featured in productions. So, what makes the Alabama Hills so unique? It is home to over 100 stone arches that were formed due to uplifting and chemical erosion that took place over 100 million years ago. The erosion formed rounded rocks that are nestled between the jagged peaks of the Sierra Nevada and the Inyo Mountains. Early Native American life in the Alabama Hills dates back 10,000 years. Today, the spectacular views continue to draw visitors by the thousands, and in fact, once served as a preferred shooting location for Ansel Adams, second only to Yosemite. The area was named after the C.S.S. Alabama, a Confederate warship that was responsible for wreaking havoc during the Civil War. Early, mining prospectors named their mining claims after the warship. One of the largest arches found in the Alabama Hills is the Mobius Arch located just off Movie Road. In addition to film buffs, visitors also flock to the Alabama Hills for rock climbing, photography, exploring, horseback rid- ing, bike riding and to see the wildflowers in bloom each spring. In March 2019, Congress designated the Alabama Hills as a National Scenic Area as a part of the John D. Dingell, Jr Conser- vation, Management, and Recreation Act. A Visitor Center is available to the public and offers informa- Continued on Page 30