Mike and I are campers and one of our more unique camping spots this year was Alabama Hills.
We go camping easily 10+ times a year. Not the hike-in, back packing kind of camping though. We’re unapologetically car campers: we have an 18″ tall double wide inflatable mattress with real sheets. We’re almost glamping kind of people (and we’ve done that too!). I’m all about the campsites and Mike’s all about the gear. We’re both obsessed with camp food because food outdoors just tastes better.
The Alabama Hills
Full of large rock formations and an endless sky, Alabama Hills is a nature lovers paradise. If you’re looking for a remote, but not too remote boondocking experience, this is a great place to dip your toes in. This is a place we’ve been back to more than once, because we loved it so much.
What is boondocking?
Boondocking, in case you aren’t familiar, is free, dispersed camping. In America, you can disperse camp on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service. The number one rule for boondocking is leave no trace. Pack it in, pack it out. It’s nature so there are no resources and you have to bring everything in and take it with you when you go. The appeal of boondocking for us is a quiet camp experience in a gorgeous setting. Alabama Hills hit all the right notes and more.
What are the Alabama Hills?
The Alabama Hills are a National Scenic Area in California. Essentially, it’s a range of rock formations and hills that are part of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The area is beautiful, full of endless sky, huge boulders, and picturesque tumbleweed. At night, the stars spill across the sky, bright points of yellow, orange, and red in the deepest, inky blue-black you’ll ever see.
Where are the Alabama Hills?
The Hills are in the Owens Valley in California and the closest tiny populated area is called Lone Pine. To get to the Hills, you drive on Highway 395 towards Lone Pine. At the stoplight on Whitney Portal Road, turn West, drive 2.5 miles to Movie Road (that’s it below), turn right, and you’re there.
What is Alabama Hills known for?
I’m not a movie buff, but Alabama Hills is where almost all the Westerns were shot in the early period of Hollywood. It’s isolated and rugged and the perfect backdrop for shooting any sort of movie that needs a rocky backdrop. There are literally thousands of movies that have been filmed here. Two of the more modern ones are: Iron Man and Django Unchained.
Where can you go camping in Alabama Hills?
Camping in Alabama Hills is getting more and more difficult as the years go on with its increasing popularity. It used to be that you could drive through, looking for a camp spot and stop for the night. Now, you need to get a free camping permit online before even considering camping. The permit doesn’t guarantee a spot, it just allows you to camp. All of the camping in Alabama Hills is first come, first serve.
There are designated dispersed campsites marked with a little tent symbol, some of them being only accessible by 4WD. We camped in one of those and although we had 4WD, in Mike’s opinion any reasonable high clearance vehicle would have made it easily, at least when dry. If you’re planning to go, you can check out this map that shows you exactly where the dispersed sites are.
Camping in Alabama Hills
If you’re doing dispersed camping, get a permit and make sure you read through the rules and regulations. After that, check out the map so you have an idea of where the campsites are. It’s best to arrive earlier in the day, but not too early, around 1 pm is probably ideal. When you find an empty spot, pitch your tent and enjoy the Hills. If you want to have a campfire, be sure to get a campfire permit and check if there are any campfire restrictions. If you’re good to go, you can use the existing fire rings in the campsites.
The other way to camp in Alabama Hills is to go to an actual campground. Tuttle Creek is just outside of Alabama Hills. It’s first come first served as well, but it has all the standard campground facilities and if you can’t find a dispersed spot, this is the best place to head to.
What is the best time to camp in Alabama Hills?
Alabama Hills is extremely popular, so you’ll need to plan accordingly. It’s open year round but you’ll want to avoid the busiest times if you can. The weather, specifically the temperature is a concern, so if you don’t do well in heat, you probably want to avoid the summer. The busiest time in the Hills is, unsurprisingly, spring and fall, when the temperatures are the most comfortable. We went in the height of summer because we love the heat and honestly, we had a lot of fun and loved the fact that it was so empty.
Hiking in Alabama Hills
The one hike you should do is the Arch Loop Trail. You can see two rock arches: the Heart Arch and the Mobius Arch. It’s a 1 km long hike for the loop and it’s relatively flat and easy. Along the way you can get views of Mount Whitney and all of the other Sierra peaks.
Why should you go camping in Alabama Hills?
If you love the stars or astronomy, Alabama Hills is an excellent place to camp. It’s not a dark sky preserve, but it’s very, very dark (Bortle Class 2, if you’re an astronomy geek) and you will see SO MANY STARS. You can see the Milky Way with your naked eyes and if you’re there when there’s no moonlight, you might be able to spot the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies. The Triangulum Galaxy will show up as a faint smudge of light not a swirly spiral, but it’s amazing that you can see so many light years away. Andromeda is the easiest galaxy to see: it looks like a slightly elliptical fuzzy star. It’s brighter and bigger, so you don’t have to be in somewhere like Alabama Hills, but if you’ve never tried to see it before, while you’re camping is the time!
Mike and I absolutely loved our one night stay in Alabama Hills. It was lonely, in the best way possible, as in, we were alone with each other, miles away from other people. If you’re an introvert, you’ll love it. Just you, the rocks and the sky. I’m so happy we got to camp there. It’s one of my favorite memories with Mike.
xoxo
-steph
