Set in the Owens Valley between the jagged peaks of the Sierra Nevada and the geologically complex Inyo Mountains, the Alabama Hills are a surreal landscape of weathered granite boulders, rounded domes, and hundreds of natural arches. Though geographically separate from the Sierra Nevada, the hills are part of the same geological formation, sculpted from an 85-million-year-old biotite monzogranite that weathers to large roundish boulders, many standing on end due to spheroidal weathering acting on nearly vertical joints in the rock. The contrast is unforgettable: smooth, sun-warmed stone in the foreground, snow-capped 14,000-foot peaks rising directly behind. WikipediaWikipedia

The hills were named for the CSS Alabama, a Confederate warship deployed during the American Civil War. When news of the ship's exploits reached prospectors in California sympathetic to the Confederates, they named many mining claims after the ship, and the name came to be applied to the entire range. Hollywood discovered the area shortly after, and for more than a century the boulder fields have stood in for nearly every rugged frontier on screen. John Wayne, Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers, and Gene Autry all rode through these rocks, and the location continues to draw modern productions from "Gladiator" to "Iron Man." Each October, the town of Lone Pine hosts the Lone Pine Film Festival, celebrating the area's deep cinematic legacy with bus tours and panels. Wikipedia

Recreation runs the full spectrum. Movie Road, the main scenic drive, winds through the heart of the area and connects short hikes to landmarks like Mobius Arch, Lathe Arch, the Eye of Alabama, and Heart Arch. Rock climbers come for the bouldering and crack routes on the high-friction granite, mountain bikers and gravel riders link dirt roads through the formations, and photographers chase the iconic Mt. Whitney framed perfectly inside Mobius Arch at first light. The Alabama Hills feature exceptional skies for Central California, classified as a Bortle class 2 "average dark sky" site, making the area a magnet for astrophotographers and stargazers. Wikipedia

The area also serves as a gateway to Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States at 14,505 feet, with the Whitney Portal trailhead just a short drive up the canyon. Camping at designated semi-primitive campsites requires a free Alabama Hills permit, and developed sites are available nearby at Tuttle Creek Campground, Lone Pine Campground, and Portuguese Joe Campground. The Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone people have called this valley home for thousands of years, and visitors are asked to tread lightly on a landscape that is fragile despite its rugged appearance. Bureau of Land Management