Alabama Hills, California

It is no surprise that this is a bucket list destination for a lot of equestrians. Located at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountain range just outside Lone Pine, California, the Alabama Hills feature a unique landscape of round and oddly shaped granite rock formations spread across the valley floor. The National Scenic Area offers stunning views in all directions, lots of horse-friendly trails to explore, and tons of photo opportunities.

The interesting geology of Alabama Hills has made it a filming location for hundreds of movies over the years, from How the West Was Won (1962) to Tremors (1990) to Iron Man (2008). The aptly named Movie Road is the main portal to access the rock formations that are spread out over several miles. Here you’ll find naturally formed arches and clusters with names like Shark Fin, Nightmare Rock, Bowling Ball and Pins, and Cyclops Arch. All of this is set against the formidable backdrop of the Sierra with Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak in the contiguous U.S., looming large.

Riding

There are a number of ways to ride the Alabama Hills from single-track trails to dirt roads. The routes weave and wind around and through the rock formations so you can make lots of loops of various miles. There is enough here to spend a couple of days exploring each side of Movie Road and taking photos.

Most of the riding is fairly non-technical unless you decide to get up onto the granite rocks. There are a couple of lightly technical trails with step ups and step downs. Formed by the crumbling of the surrounding rocks, the footing is DG (decomposed granite). There is generally no water on the trail unless you ride early enough in the spring when there may be some water in the creeks.

The plant life at Alabama Hills reflects the overlapping zones of the Great Basin and the Mojave. You’ll find sagebrush sprinkled with cactus. Keep an eye open for lizards! Spring is probably the best season to visit due to cooler daytime temps, wildflower blooms, and snow-capped peaks in the Sierra. Fall would be nice too. Temps get too hot in the summer.

This is a popular tourist destination. You may see people rock climbing, hiking, riding bikes, camping, or just driving around taking photos. Cell service is spotty in the region.

Outside of Alabama Hills proper, there is tons of public land to explore on horseback. One interesting ride will take you high into the mountains of Tuttle Creek Canyon where a stone building called the Tuttle Creek Ashram sits. This ride can be accessed from the Tuttle Creek Campground. The trail is in great condition but includes some severe elevation gain – 2,600+ feet in a little over four miles. That sounds intense but it’s totally doable with a fit horse and is well worth it for the stunning views and the change of scenery as you climb.

Camping

Tuttle Creek Campground

This is the closest campground with equestrian facilities to the Alabama Hills. There are two designated equestrian sites. The first one has a large pull-through big enough to fit a couple of rigs. The site includes one large pipe-panel corral, a picnic table, and a fire ring. The second site (next to the first) has a back-in space for one rig, two pipe-panel corrals connected, a picnic table, and a fire ring.

The BLM-managed campground is quite large with 83 campsites in all. There are multiple vault toilets, potable water (seasonal), dumpsters, and a dump station. No hookups here, but there is a campground host onsite. This campground is very popular. The equestrian sites are not limited exclusively to equestrians so you MUST make a reservation well in advance. Reservations can only be done over the phone through the BLM Bishop Field Office at (760) 872-5000. Be warned that they do not always answer the phone and you may have to call several times to get through to someone. You’ll want to confirm your reservation before your arrival.

For equestrians, weed-free hay is required. Officials want manure to be taken to the dumpsters. Note that the dumpsters are nowhere close to the equestrian sites so you may want to plan to use a trash can or wheelbarrow and drive it over. Potable water is also not super close to the equestrian sites so if you are using that for your horses you may want to drive over water containers to fill up.

Because of how busy the campground is you might not want to leave horses unattended. It was my experience that people (including unattended children) walked into the campsites to pet the horses. The campground can be quite active at times but there are quiet hours overnight. You can expect lots of people walking and vehicles driving around.

From Tuttle Creek, you can ride to Alabama Hills (roughly three miles away) but it’s better to just trailer over and save the miles. There are several large day-use parking lots in the Alabama Hills area where you can park.

Dispersed Camping

After several years of increasingly poor behavior by campers, the Bureau of Land Management has severely limited dispersed camping within the Alabama Hills. Visitors can only camp in designated areas marked with signs. Most sites, but not all, are accessible with a truck and trailer. Designated campsites are first come, first serve but there is apparently a future BLM plan to require a permit to dispersed camp.

If planning to dispersed camp with your horse you will need to bring a portable corral or high tie. There are no trees in the area to highline. There are six porta potties along the main road but no garbage collection. If dispersed camping, you must pack it in and pack it out – that includes solid human waste.

De La Cour Ranch

I have not stayed at this facility so cannot vouch for it any capacity. However, we want to include it as an option because they do offer overnight horse lodging along with cabins, bungalows, and RV sites. This ranch is farther south of Alabama Hills so would require trailering to ride. There is riding around the ranch too. Sources who have stayed here tell me that access can be tight with a large rig. For more information: https://delacour-ranch.com/