Movie Flat Designated Dispersed Camping
Alabama Hills Recreation Area
Write a Review Whitney Portal Rd. Lone Pine, CA 93545 760-872-5000 Official WebsiteGPS: 36.6054, -118.1189
Overview of Movie Flat Designated Dispersed Camping
Changes are being made to the Alabama Hills to improve the recreation experience for all users. As of late 2021 the west side of Movie Road in the Movie Flat area and any area marked with a no camping sign will be day-use only. Additional changes to dispersed camping will occur throughout the end of 2021. These changes will include a required free permit and converting all camping to designated dispersed sites. Click here for a reference map. Six porta-potties have been added as well. Please pack out all human waste - leave no trace!
Please check the official website link above to get the most up-to-date information.
Accessibility is not guaranteed, always scout ahead before driving down dirt roads. Learn more: Boondocking 101.
Last Price Paid: $0
Reported by WorkinfortheWild on 4/28/2024
Longest RV Reported: 42 feet (Fifth Wheel)
Reported by The Wanderpreneurs on 6/17/2019
Number of Sites 50
Pad Type dirt
Elevation 4,593 ft / 1,399 m
Max Stay 14
Tent Camping Yes
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Q&A - Ask the Community about Movie Flat Designated Dispersed Camping
To ask questions of the owner or manager please contact the campground directly. 760-872-5000
closecalls asked on 1/20/2021
I have the sense that boondocking outside of the Turtle Creek campground at Alabama Hills Recreation Area is strongly...
RAMJETR asked on 7/5/2021
Whats the nearest dump station to Alabama Hills Recreation Area?
Kerry asked on 10/1/2021
Do I need a permit to camp at Alabama Hills Recreational Park?
KC Dale asked on 4/20/2021
Does anyone have an idea how busy Alabama Hills will be for camping mid-week in August?
Bri asked on 3/19/2021
Will I be able to enter into the Alabama Hills camping area in a Sedan? Just worried about needing 4WD ;/
Ridgeback12 asked on 1/22/2021
Will April be a good time to RV camp at the Alabama Hills Recreation Area? Not too hot or too many people? Any bloomi...
Reviews of Movie Flat Designated Dispersed Camping 103 people have reviewed this location.
Cell Phone Coverage
Confirmed by 14 Users
Last reported 5/22/2021
Confirmed by 29 Users
Last reported 4/29/2023
Confirmed by 5 Users
Last reported 11/27/2021
“Stunning and spacious”
Reviewed 6/12/2020
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
Overall Rating
Stayed here 6/2/2020. Located just outside the small town of Lone Pine (popular PCT hiker town stop) off Highway 395. Easily accessible. From Lone Pine, we took Movie Road to the spot where we stayed the night. You can take that same road through the area and it rejoins the 395 further north. Lots of hiking trails in the are... more
Stayed here 6/2/2020.
Located just outside the small town of Lone Pine (popular PCT hiker town stop) off Highway 395.
Easily accessible. From Lone Pine, we took Movie Road to the spot where we stayed the night. You can take that same road through the area and it rejoins the 395 further north.
Lots of hiking trails in the area with curious rock shapes to explore.
Beautiful views of the Sierras. At night, the starry skies are gorgeous against the snow-capped mountains. Just can’t beat views like these, especially when free!
The winds were strong at times. Just beware of that.
Watch out for nails near fire pits. We collected quite a bit. For fun I made a wind chime with them to repurpose the waste. A bit trashy in a few areas. No surprise because of the amount of traffic coming through but still always a bummer to see. Pack it in, pack it out. LNT!
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AT&T
Hypsy-Gypsy would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Social Distancing in a most beautiful place”
Reviewed 3/25/2020
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 5 |
Overall Rating
I arrived last Thursday evening after dark, but was able to find a place close to the road (Movie Road) but away from other campers. This is during the Corona Virus time, so people kept their distance. I would walk down the road (down Movie Road, and then down Whitney Portal Road) about a mile and a half in order to get cell service.... more
I arrived last Thursday evening after dark, but was able to find a place close to the road (Movie Road) but away from other campers. This is during the Corona Virus time, so people kept their distance. I would walk down the road (down Movie Road, and then down Whitney Portal Road) about a mile and a half in order to get cell service. About a 450 ft elevation change from camping spot to cell reception spot. i did this two or three times a day, so I got my daily exercise in one of the most strangely beautiful places I have ever experienced.
The weather changed frequently. Temperature got down to freezing a couple of nights, and up to the 70's on a couple of days. Sometimes it rained, but mostly at night.
There were rigs of all types... from large motorhomes to people camping in tents. The area is open to ATV's and dirt bikes, but people were respectful when passing walkers on the road. Movie Road is paved for about half a mile, then it transitions to sandy-dirt, and during this season was passable by most, if not all, vehicles.
I look forward to returning to this place.
davidy52 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Easy access”
Reviewed 2/21/2020
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
Overall Rating
We got here around 2PM after our Death Valley visit and it was very easy to find a spot. Distance from other camper can be far from each other if you choose to be. This place has spectacular views during our stay here. We stayed next to a “technical 4x4” route and saw really cool Jeeps crawling the rocks. Not sure if it was jus... more
We got here around 2PM after our Death Valley visit and it was very easy to find a spot. Distance from other camper can be far from each other if you choose to be. This place has spectacular views during our stay here.
We stayed next to a “technical 4x4” route and saw really cool Jeeps
crawling the rocks.
Not sure if it was just the night we were there or if it’s like this all the time but As soon as it hit 9-930pm, the wind picked up so hard where it was incredibly hard to even fall asleep to or feel comfortable. We decided it was just best to leave earlier than planned as we know desert weather can be unexpected.
Other than that, we will give this place another shot but we will definitely read the weather/gust report before heading out next time.
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AT&T 4G
T-Mobile
JCFlo would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Delightful Views of Boulders Everywhere”
Reviewed 1/20/2020
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
Overall Rating
The pictures says it all. Needed a spot to stay the night to break up a 10 hour hauling trip. We were desiring a private spot inbetween the boulders. We had 1 bar Verizon hotspot LTE and 1 bar ATT cell service at our private location. We had a perfect flat lot , which is great for our jacks on our 41 foot 5th wheel. About. 2 miles f... more
The pictures says it all. Needed a spot to stay the night to break up a 10 hour hauling trip. We were desiring a private spot inbetween the boulders. We had 1 bar Verizon hotspot LTE and 1 bar ATT cell service at our private location. We had a perfect flat lot , which is great for our jacks on our 41 foot 5th wheel.
About. 2 miles from downtown Lone Pine off 395. Great place to stay for a quick layover. Will Come here again.
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AT&T 4G
Amanda would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Delightful Views of Boulders Everywhere”
Reviewed 1/20/2020
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
Overall Rating
The pictures says it all. Needed a spot to stay the night to break up a 10 hour hauling trip. We were desiring a private spot inbetween the boulders. We had 1 bar Verizon hotspot LTE and 1 bar ATT cell service at our private location. We had a perfect flat lot , which is great for our jacks on our 41 foot 5th wheel. About. 2 miles f... more
The pictures says it all. Needed a spot to stay the night to break up a 10 hour hauling trip. We were desiring a private spot inbetween the boulders. We had 1 bar Verizon hotspot LTE and 1 bar ATT cell service at our private location. We had a perfect flat lot , which is great for our jacks on our 41 foot 5th wheel.
About. 2 miles from downtown Lone Pine off 395. Great place to stay for a quick layover. Will Come here again.
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AT&T 4G
Amanda would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Gorgeous views and not difficult for a 2WD minivan to access”
Reviewed 12/29/2019
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
Overall Rating
November 18th 2019 Unfortunately, we didn’t get to Alabama Hills as early as we had hoped, but it was easy enough to find (although the road was a bit bumpy). I wanted to park near the arches, hoping to check them out the next morning. We found a spot to pull off just across from The Mobius Arch Loop Trailhead parking lot, which had b... more
November 18th 2019
Unfortunately, we didn’t get to Alabama Hills as early as we had hoped, but it was easy enough to find (although the road was a bit bumpy). I wanted to park near the arches, hoping to check them out the next morning. We found a spot to pull off just across from The Mobius Arch Loop Trailhead parking lot, which had both the Mobius Arch and the Heart Arch. I noticed after we had parked that there was a lovely hole just behind our car, and I’m guessing if there were any lovely rattlesnakes hanging about that we scared them off. EEK Thank goodness! We had a beautiful view of the night sky, and we had a very peaceful sleep until some engine revving the next morning. We thought that perhaps there were some people off-roading, but instead of some ATVs we found a Lamborghini and a minivan. Yep, not the expected duo, but someone was hanging out of the minivan shooting the Lamborghini racing up and down the road, so I’m guessing that they were filming something. It was interesting to watch, and we were surprised we weren’t in their way.
Everyone who had been there the night before was gone, but in daylight, the rock formations were even more spectacular. Isabel and I walked up to the top of one of the formations. The view was wonderful, and I would have loved to actually climb, but I didn’t want to break something. In future, I would love to actually learn how to climb properly. I can see why Alabama Hills is called a Boulderer’s Paradise, because it’s amazing. The mountains had bits of snow peeking out at the top as we drove out, and the view was so gorgeous. (I saw the views on Google Maps before we left and sent hubby a screenshot saying, “We have to stay here!) Hubby got nervous on our way out, and while it did get quite bumpy River made it out just fine.
beautyofthelake would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Wonderful experience not to be missed”
Reviewed 11/24/2019
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 2 |
Overall Rating
Spent a night here before heading into Death Valley. Wish we had more time to camp and explore the area. Found a great secluded spot to spend the night. Lots of stargazing at night. Where we camped about a mile up Movie Road we had no Verizon coverage, but could get a signal going back down the road a bit. The drive up to Whitney Porta... more
Spent a night here before heading into Death Valley. Wish we had more time to camp and explore the area. Found a great secluded spot to spend the night. Lots of stargazing at night. Where we camped about a mile up Movie Road we had no Verizon coverage, but could get a signal going back down the road a bit. The drive up to Whitney Portal is well worth it with breathtaking views. Recommend coming during the week, lots of traffic and OHV vehicles around Alabama Hills on the weekends in November. We plan to come back and spend more time here.
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Verizon 4G
P-Dub would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Wonderful Spot”
Reviewed 11/2/2019
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
Overall Rating
What can I add? Wonderful spot, lots of places to spread out from other campers. Only spent one night this time but this would make a great base camp to explore the area.
Introvert Outdoors would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Epic Views of Sierras ”
Reviewed 7/26/2019
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 2 |
| RV Length: | 27' (Class A) |
Overall Rating
We absolutely fell in love with Alabama Hills. So many great sites to pull into not too far from Lone Pine or Bishop. The views are literally movie quality, hence the name of the entrance road. Our 27’ class A rig definitely felt big but we had no trouble fitting into a spot. Road is definitely washboarded so best if you have a 4x4... more
We absolutely fell in love with Alabama Hills. So many great sites to pull into not too far from Lone Pine or Bishop. The views are literally movie quality, hence the name of the entrance road.
Our 27’ class A rig definitely felt big but we had no trouble fitting into a spot. Road is definitely washboarded so best if you have a 4x4 or aren’t worried about your stuff getting rambled.
NO hookups. Help Keep it clean for the rest of us boon-dockers by following leave no trace.
The roads/options are nearly endless as you explore deeper back to the mountains—it’s a popular place and feels busy but not crowded since everything is so expansive.
Bring shade and water!!
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T-Mobile 4G
BedoinBoondockers would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Are you kidding me?”
Reviewed 7/13/2019
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 0 |
Overall Rating
What a beautiful spot!! OK, so it helps if you like the desert,, but really?? Free spots! this place is incredible. We didn't actually stay here, but most definitely will next time we're through here. We were coming back from Lone Pine - a very nice campground we have enjoyed many times and decided to just drive through and see wha... more
What a beautiful spot!! OK, so it helps if you like the desert,, but really?? Free spots! this place is incredible. We didn't actually stay here, but most definitely will next time we're through here. We were coming back from Lone Pine - a very nice campground we have enjoyed many times and decided to just drive through and see what it was like. Wow is all I can say.
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
Page 6 of 11
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