Adventure Lives Here
Highest & Lowest
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.
Hello Adventure!
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.
Hollywood Adventures
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.
Boom Town
In the heyday of the mining boom in California, mid- to late‑1800s, the Owens Lake (now dry) was used to ship silver and lead bullion, bound for the precious metals exchange in Los Angeles, across the lake aboard the Bessy Brady and Mollie Stevens steamboats from the nearby mine known as Cerro Gordo. It is located at 8,500‑feet elevation in the Inyo Mountains east of Lone Pine and holds the distinction of being the most prosperous mine for silver and lead in California history, a feat it managed to achieve in just 10-years. It was a hugely adventurous undertaking and it paid off. Today it is a ghost town and one very adventurous soul is breathing new life into this old town. Drive up the old Yellow Grade Rd. for a unique adventure.
Serving Adventure
Lone Pine lives to serve adventure. The town bustles with energy and excitement as townsfolk operate hotels, hostels, restaurants, gear stores, grocery stores, gift shops, and gas stations that provide the sustenance and resources that adventure needs to thrive.
Experience one of the most majestic and recognizable landscapes in the country.
