Lone Pine is a gateway community to two of the most famous features in the United States: Mt. Whitney—the highest point on the continental U.S.A., and Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America, in nearby Death Valley National Park. It is also a community steeped in the history of the California gold rush, Hollywood’s movie making, and the Los Angeles city water wars. There’s a whole lotta adventure here.

If adventure were personified it might choose to live in Lone Pine. From here it could venture to the top of the tallest peak in the contiguous United States, Mt. Whitney at 14,505‑feet above sea level. Mt. Whitney can be seen from town and accessing its summit from Whitney Portal is a strenuous hike, usually requiring a multiday backpack trip and always requiring a permit.

Then it might venture out to the lowest point on the continent of North America, Badwater Basin at 282-feet below sea level, along a breathtakingly beautiful drive into nearby Death Valley National Park.

Adventure rode into town in the early 1900s with movie crews and created epic films of daring and courage. It told stories of the old cowboy west in a landscape of beautiful rock formations bordered by a vast open plain rising majestically to the snow-capped mountains beyond. This pristine landscape, the Alabama Hills, remains unspoiled and unchanged; filmmakers still frequent these evocative settings to shoot adventurous and inspiring movies and commercials.

The Lone Pine Museum of Western Film History is a dedicated to the history of Hollywood in the Eastern Sierra. It holds an extensive collection of real movie costumes, movie cars, props, posters, and other memorabilia. It is a wonderful representation of the industry, its producers, directors, actors, crews, and entourage who visit here and create the films that thrill and entertain countless moviegoers.