"Lone Pine - Western Movie Mecca" Lone Pine by M0B1US

Situated in the Owens Valley between the High Sierras and Death Valley, Lone Pine is on the main interstate highway between Southern California and Lake Tahoe, and is an excellent jumping off point for visiting the major local attractions of Mt. Whitney (14,496ft/4,420m above sea level), and Death Valley National Park.

Mount Whitney towers above Lone Pine and is very easy to get to along the Whitney Portal Road which passes through the hauntingly beautiful Alabama Hills made famous by the 300+ films that were shot there, most of which were Westerns.

At the end of this road is an 11 mile trail (closed in winter) that leads to the summit, Mt Whitney borders the Sequoia National Park and the surrounding alpine meadows make for ideal backpacking in the summer.

Lone Pine makes for an excellent base for outdoor activities during all seasons as it is adjacent to the Inyo National Forest and John Muir and Golden Trout Wildernesses, offering year-round fishing, fabulous hiking, biking, horse riding and sightseeing. Or you can relax near the water and enjoy boating, golf at the Mt. Whitney Golf Course and hunting at the Lone Pine Pheasant Club.

Mt Whitney 14,496 ft

Why not stay at Dow Villa Hotel, the same hotel that John Wayne used to stay at when shooting in Lone Pine? Another great attraction in town is the old Indian Trading Post on the main road by the Whitney Portal turn off, now a tourist shop all the movie stars would carve their names into the inside walls around the door frame.

The Alabama Hills are only 2 1/2 miles away along the Whitney Portal road, be sure to take Movie road which is marked by a plaque to journey through all the different film locations in a site still used to this day. You can download and print off a movie location map from the informative Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce and Tourist Information Website.

If you're around Lone Pine in October, you can drop in on the Annual Lone Pine Film Festival, featuring films, music, stunts and a whole plethora of other activities!

So c'mon over to Lone Pine - there's tourist gold in them thar hills! YEE HAAAA!

Alabama Hills

By Car along I-395, a north-south road interstate running between Mt Whitney and Death Valley, the nearest town of any size is Bishop to the north on the way to Mammoth Lakes. This is an area of stunning natural beauty which, unfortunately, can only really be appreciated by car unless you have plenty of time on your hands.

Please also note that the weather round these parts can get very harsh with the chance of the highway being closed. The road to Mt Whitney is also subject to closure, and the road to Death Valley is actually quite a difficult road with rapid changes in altitude and many precipitous drops - always make sure your car is properly equipped and you are sufficiently rested before undertaking routes away from the main highway in difficult conditions, if at all.

This route is so remote that even Greyhound buses have stopped services and you now have to rely on an intermittent bus service between Ridgecrest City and Bishop called The Crest.

Once at Lone Pine however, there are plenty of opportunities for Mountain Biking such as a relatively short ride to the Alabama Hills.