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Alabama Hills is located just outside of the small town of Lone Pine, along California’s scenic Highway 395. It’s known for its extensive history of being the filming locations for dozens of movies and most of all, being the “front yard” of Mount Whitney, the highest mountain peak in the lower 48.

While there are many things to do in Alabama Hills, this post is going to focus on one of, if not the, most popular trail in the area - the Mobius Arch loop trail. It’s well known by hikers and photographers alike, for its scenery, as they’re as close to second-to-none as it gets.

The orange/brown, drab-weathered volcanic and granite rock creates a stunning contrast to the often snow-capped granite peaks that make up the Whitney Range. Best of all, Alabama Hills is on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land and thus, is free to recreate in.

The Mobius Arch loop trail is on the short end of the spectrum but if you’re traveling along Highway 395 and need to stretch your legs for an hour, there are few places better to do that than Alabama Hills and the Mobius Arch trail, respectively.

So how long is the trail? How do you get there? What’s the bathroom and parking situation like? I answer all of these questions and more in the post below. Let’s get into it.

Trail Stats

• Location: Alabama Hills in Lone Pine, California

• Fees: None

• Open: All year

• Nearest Camping: Free, dispersed camping all over Alabama Hills. Paid, reservation-based camping at Mount Whitney Portal

• Family Friendly: Yes

• Cell Service: Decent

• Restroom: Three port-o-potties at the trailhead

• Parking: Large, well maintained dirt lot

• EV Stations: None

• Difficulty: Easy

• Popularity: Medium

• Mileage: 0.6 mile loop

• Time: One hour or less

• Elevation Gain: 42 feet

• Condition: Well maintained and easy to follow

• Features: Famous granite arch and views of Mount Whitney

• Best Time: Best in Spring or Fall.

• Pets: Allowed, must be leashed

• Drones: Allowed with a valid permit. You can obtain one here

• Hazards: Rattlesnakes have been known to frequent the area. Additionally, the trail is very exposed

• Our Visit(s): 2017, 2019 and September 2024

Mobius Arch Loop Trail Parking and Directions

Getting to the trailhead for Mobius Arch is an easy endeavor. No matter which direction you’re coming from, you’ll need to find your way to Highway 395. Once you get into the small town of Lone Pine, you’ll turn onto Whitney Portal Road (at the town’s sole stoplight).

If there’s construction going on (like there was during our recent visit), you’ll have to detour for about ten miles through Turtle Creek and Horseshoe Meadow Roads, before rejoining Whitney Portal Road and then turning left onto Movie Flat Road.

If there isn’t construction going on, you’ll simply continue up Whitney Portal Road for a few miles, passing Nightmare Rock on your right (pictured below). The designs and colors on Nightmare Rock change quite often, so there’s almost always something new to see with each visit.

Shortly after passing Nightmare Rock, you’ll see the turnoff for Movie Flat Road on your right. From either direction, travel along the road for about one mile. You’ll eventually see the large, dirt-floor parking lot on your left. There’s no fee. Just find a spot and park your car.

Near where you first drove into the lot are three port-o-potties available to use. I peaked inside of them to see how maintained they are and I was pleasantly surprised by their cleanliness (as far as port-o-potty standards go, anyway). Additionally, there are two informational boards over there as well.

This trail is of the loop variety, so it doesn’t particularly matter which direction you go. For the purpose of simplicity, though, this post will focus on the trailhead pictured below. It is located on the left side of the parking lot, facing Mount Whitney and Lone Pine Peak.

Mobius Arch Loop Trail

The trail is easy to follow as it’s mostly free of debris and lined with rocks, making the pathway obvious. It begins with one of only two elevation changes along the entire trail by descending a small hill to a dried creek bed. Once you pass that, you’ll start ascending to the arch.

You’ll only gain a meager 42-feet of elevation throughout this hike so while it isn’t completely flat, it’s easy for nearly anyone. I’ve seen kids, their grandparents, and grown adults in sandals (not recommended, though) on this trail. If your dog is with you, you can bring them as long as they’re leashed or otherwise controlled.

It was a bit too warm for our dog to walk, so my wife put her into this pouch/sling we got from Amazon. She’s a small dog and fit into it perfectly. It allowed her to come with us on the hike and avoided her paws getting burned. If you have a small dog and are interested, you can find it here.

Mobius Arch is situated at around the halfway point of the trail. If you don’t make stops, you should reach it within ten minutes of starting the trail. In fact, look for the rock that looks like a skull on your left (pictured below). You’ll come upon Mobius Arch (on your right) shortly after passing that rock.

There are many arches in Alabama Hills, but Mobius Arch is the famous one of the bunch, particularly among photographers, for the ability to frame both Mount Whitney or Lone Pine Peak within it to capture creatively stunning photographs.

Even if you’re not into photography, it’s still cool to look at and say you were there. In order to frame Whitney or Lone Pine within the arch, you’ll need to go up the boulder next to it and shoot from there (as you can see in the photo that my wife captured below). You won’t be able to do it from ground level.

If you’ve never been here before or haven’t seen what Mount Whitney looks like, don’t make the same mistake I did during my first visit in 2017. I framed Lone Pine Peak inside Mobius Arch, thinking it was Whitney, then got humbled later when our waitress at Alabama Hills Cafe advised me I had photographed the wrong mountain.

The peak you see in the photo above is indeed Mount Whitney. The one that appears more prominent from this perspective is Lone Pine Peak. It looks taller and more imposing, but that’s only because Whitney is much further back. Perspective is a crazy thing.

Once you’ve gotten enough photos of the arch, simply continue along the path to complete the loop. You could also opt to return in the same direction you came, but if you did you’d be missing out on some killer landscape and a bonus arch.

Shortly after Mobius is Heart Arch. You can see it in the distance from the parking lot (and honestly, the heart shape is more defined from there), but you can also see it up close along the trail. You’ll soon come to a trail junction after leaving Mobius. To the right will be the continuance of Mobius Arch Loop, up ahead will be Heart Arch.

As stated above, you can see the shape of the heart much better from the parking lot. From up close, it only slightly resembles a heart. It’s still cool to see, though. I’ve heard that there was another arch along this trail, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to locate it.

The remainder of the Mobius Arch Loop is made up of stunning landscapes and fascinating rock/boulder formations. It’s almost like walking through a scene in Star Wars, which is fitting because a scene for a Star Wars movie (among many others) was filmed in Alabama Hills.

Despite there being multiple trail junctions, the trail is easy to follow. For most of the later half of the loop, you’ll have the parking lot within view. Worst case scenario, as long as you keep Mount Whitney and Lone Pine Peak in front of you, you’re fine.

Near the end, you’ll have one final ascent that’ll take you to the parking lot and you’ll be done. This hike is super family friendly, pet friendly and is a great way to stretch your legs during your road trip. I highly recommend checking it out.

Frequent Questions About Alabama Hills

Why do they call it ‘Alabama Hills’?

It was named for a confederate warship, the CSS Alabama (not sure why, but it is what it is)

How many movies were filmed at Alabama Hills?

Alabama Hills has been featured in more than 400 movies, 100 TV show episodes, and countless commercials/ads.

Do you need a 4X4 for Alabama Hills?

For the trail featured in this post, no. However, there are many areas of Alabama Hills where a 4x4 would be needed.

Where is the best place to camp in Alabama Hills?

You can camp at the BLM managed Turtle Creek campground, or take advantage of dispersed camping and set up almost anywhere.

Can you see Mount Whitney from Alabama Hills?

Yes. Mount Whitney is visible from most areas of Alabama Hills.

PSALM 91