Alabama Hills | Wild Camping

April 24th, 2024 by The Joslyn Journey

I don't know if you can get a better, more scenic campsite than this! And next to walking trails, oh my. But this place is HOPPING closer towards the weekend. We snagged this on a Wednesday mid-day. If we were 30 minutes later, it would have been taken. LOTS of traffic trying to find sites from later Wed-Sun. It can get pretty windy, so mind your awnings if you use them.

May 6th, 2023 by dieselbeast.the.bus

Perfect little campsite, nestled among the unique rocks of the Alabama Hills. From here you can walk to the Arch Trail (highly recommended) or Shark Fin Trail. Come early on a weekday to find a spot, as they fill up very quickly and there are only about 20-something total designated spots in the area. No Verizon signal whatsoever, but if you go back down the road towards town you start to get signal a few hundred yards after it turns from dirt to paved road. Overall, this is one of the most scenic and fun to explore areas I've visited. Check out the Film museum in town, and watch Tremors to see the Alabama Hills on the big screen!

September 29th, 2022 by yvivian11

Awesome spot! We stayed here 2 nights - not sure if these exact coordinates but we followed and then continued until we found a designated camping spot that was level.

Nestled amongst the rocks with a lot to climb and see. Even during a hot day (90 degrees) it was easy to stay cool in the shade because of the nice breeze.

August 18th, 2022 by Mélanie Lapointe

First IOverlander spots are permanently closed but a little further the spots where you can camp are well indicated. View is incredible!

August 4th, 2022 by Gaetan De Waele

a lot of ioverlander spots in this area should now be marked as closed. there are still allowed camping spots on this side of movie flat road. we easily found spots by taking the first left coming back southbound on movie flat rd from the mobius arch loop trailhead. amazing location. no high clearance or 4wd needed.

July 4th, 2022 by Julie and Tom Thompson

Nice, scenic place to spend the night. We camped on the east side of Movie road in a camper van. Would like to spend more time in this area.

June 8th, 2022 by brookh

Good quiet spots in a lovely area. Checked the visitor info board at the trailhead previously posted and BLM website; no camping on west side of Movie Road, on east side camping is permitted only in spots with existing fire pits and no 'no camping' or 'day use only' signs. Further changes to come later this year though so be sure to check. No T-Mobile signal.

January 27th, 2022 by kyrajones

Didn’t stay at these exact coordinates but there’s lots of spots around! Roads in are dirt/gravel but manageable in 2WD (we didn’t venture too far in though). Not busy at all on a weekday in January. Wind can pick up so just be prepared for that.

As stated in other comments… Alabama Hills BLM is changing rules. There’s lots of “Day Use Only” and No Camping signs posted so just be careful! I added a map posted at the Mobias Arch Trailhead that’s pretty good at showing where camping is allowed. There’s also a map showing paid campground in the area. Tuttle Creek is close and only $8.

November 4th, 2021 by piedraloca

I stayed at a spot to the north of here not at this exact spot. Lots of spots around! Most roads are fine for 2WD until they disappear into very steep gullies.

BLM is limiting camping in this area and there are lots of new "day use only" areas, but these spots to the east of Movie road are still fine to camp in. I've uploaded a screenshot from BLM showing the new dispersed camping areas. They've also added porta potties in a few places near the main roads.

Plenty of people here on a Thursday afternoon and many more arrived on Friday, but almost everyone cleared out on Sunday morning.

No cell service via Verizon although I did have service closer to Whitney Portal road. The town of Lone Pine has wireless downtown; it's free for one hour or $5/day or a week for $25. If you want to download some Netflix, pay the $5 to get a reasonable speed; the free hour is pretty severely throttled.

Also, the reservation about 18 miles north has cheaper gas and a dispensary.

March 4th, 2021 by Jordan

Tucked right against some pretty big rocks that cut down some of the wind. This is near the Lone Ranger Canyon, and on Friday night about five cars gathered in the canyon and had a rager, so I had techno music to sleep by and puking twenty-somethings wandering around my truck...
Dozens of great spots all around the valley - so drive around and find something you like.

September 25th, 2020 by firemom

Small spot tucked up next to the big rocks. Very small level spot. Not trailer friendly. Was a nice spot to stop for the night.