Recently I published a blog on the Alabama Hills National Scenic Area, located in eastern California near the town of Lone Pine. The Alabama Hills are popular with the movie industry and are especially frequently used as a backdrop when filming Westerns. Within the rocks and boulders of the Alabama Hills are numerous natural arches, including its most famous arch, the Mobius Arch (seen in the above photo).
(The first arches we encountered on our hike)
Mobius Arch can be accessed via a short loop trail, which is the focus of this blog post. The trail is quite easy — less than a mile with very little elevation change and generally of good quality. It’s a popular hike and you will not be alone. The trail gets into the Alabama Hills so that you can enjoy some of its scenery. Look around carefully to find arches — they are surprisingly common.
(Mobius Arch Trail, Alabama Hills)
Seeing Mobius Arch is the highlight of the hike and provides you with one of the greatest photo-ops of the region. The arch is about six feet tall, and 17 feet wide. You’ll have to scramble up a rock to stand eye-level with the arch window, but it’s so worth it. The views of the Sierra Nevada range are beautiful, and it is a great place from which to see Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak in California.
(Mobius Arch provides great views of the Sierra Nevada range. The tallest peak is Mt. Whitney, shown ever closer in the above series of images)
If you visit:
From highway 395, turn west in the town of Lone Pine onto Whitney Portal Road. Drive 2.5 miles to Movie Road, then turn right. After about 1.5 miles, you come to the trailhead parking lot. Follow the markers to the trail. Enjoy yourself.
There is no fee to enter Alabama Hills National scenic Area or to hike the Mobius Arch Loop Trail. While it is a short hike, it is in the desert so be properly prepared (i.e. make sure you bring sun protection and lots of water)
The photos below highlight some of the (additional) arches we spotted during our hike on this trail….
My last photo — a cute little fellow who posed for us. Always good to see lizards when hiking in the desert, as it means there are no rattlesnakes out and about.
