More than 400 movies and hundreds of television episodes have been shot in the Alabama Hills, located just west of Lone Pine, California. From Fatty Arbuckle to Roy Rogers, John Wayne, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Humphrey Bogart, and, more recently, Robert Downey, Jr., Hollywood stars have been coming to the Alabama Hills.

The Hills have been cast as classic Western scenery, especially for serials and B-Westerns during the 1940s and 1950s. The photogenic Hills have also stood in for the exotic Middle East, in such classics as “Gunga Din,” “The Bengal Lancers,” and “Iron Man.” The Alabama Hills are managed by the Bureau of Land Management as a semi-primitive National Recreation Area. Cars can easily traverse the dirt roads in the area. A 12-mile loop starting at, appropriately, Movie Road, winds around the Hills. Detailed maps showing movie locations are available in Lone Pine.

Photography, walking, hiking, rock climbing, bird watching, camping, off-highway vehicle travel, star gazing, locating locations where movie scenes were shot.

Open all year. Sometimes portions of roads or the area are closed to accommodate movie, tv, or commercial filming.

Fees: Free

Vistas of the Sierra Nevada and Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48, can be seen from a vehicle, as can the unique rock formations and movie locations.

Horses, burros, dogs and other pets are welcome.