Alabama Hills is like a mini-Arches National Park, placed in the very shadow of Mount Whitney and the Sierra Mountains. Like Valley of Fire, it is a small area, but it offers a wealth of hiking and scenic driving all out of proportion to its size. There’s no visitor center or paper maps available, so download one from the Internet—don’t trust in cell service out here.
It’s easy to get to if you are in the Eastern Sierras—it is basically adjacent to Lone Pine, which is the portal to Mount Whitney and a junction between I-15 to the south, Death Valley to the east, and Bishop and the eastern entrance to Yosemite to the north. (Note that Tioga Pass leading into Yosemite National Park is closed most of each year due to snow.)
We stopped for half of a day after breakfast at the deservedly popular Alabama Hills Cafe.
