Elope in Alabama Hills
Plan An Alabama Hills Elopement
Everything you need to know to get married in the high desert
I love every opportunity to go back to Alabama Hills—for camping, climbing, and especially for elopements! In fact, when my partner and I decided to get married in 2019, it’s the spot we chose to say “I do.” It was a perfect day in an arguably harsh environment. The choices we made, and the planning our own elopement entailed, helped me gain the knowledge and experience to guide other couples planning their own elopements in such a unique spot. I can help you navigate the questions about heat, water, overnight camping, staying in Lone Pine, and what times of year to avoid if you want to beat the crowds.
↓ Keep reading for ideas to help you plan your Alabama Hills elopement! ↓
Alabama Hills Recreation Area - West of Lone Pine, California
Basically, the closest thing you’ll find to Mars on Earth
The place best known as Alabama Hills isn’t yet a super crowded tourist destination. It’s not a National Park and it’s not on the outskirts of any well-known town. It’s not a haven for most outdoor enthusiasts, and it gets really damn hot in the summer time. There are no amenities and when you look it up on Google, every blog triple underlines the importance of bringing water and preparing to drive dirt roads.
There are areas cordoned off for the purpose of rehabilitating vegetation, but it is up to visitors to be courteous and stay on intended pathways and in ‘established’ camping spaces. Sometimes it might be hard to tell the difference between different patches of sand and rock, but a conscious observer will begin to notice the sturdy, albeit scraggly, vegetation that has claimed space in the natural corners and washes of this high desert landscape. You’ll have no trouble finding a clear space to set up a tent, and there’re no reason to build a new campfire pit because those before you already have. (Don’t use any local vegetation as firewood, check for burn bans, and obtain a California camp fire permit before sparking any matches).
As far as event planning goes, it could be seen as a desolate place. There are no bathrooms, water stations, aid stations, or much shelter from the elements. Visitors who do not carry much with them might regret minimalism. One very important resource is Lone Pine, which is a town of two thousand people only a ten-minute drive from Alabama Hills. Lone Pine is the only place to look for lodging if you do not want to tent camp and or rent an RV. For our wedding, we camped in the Hills & left lodging up to our guests – the evening of our wedding actually turned into a camping-under-the-stars experience for our friends who chose not to set up their tents and instead spread out on blankets. My heart grew 3 sizes to witness our loved ones fall in love with our favorite place on earth!
What is Alabama Hills?
It’s not a National Park or Forest, it’s BLM. What is ‘BLM’?
The Alabama Hills Recreation Area is Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, meaning it is a form of public lands less structured than others (like National Park or Forest), and the responsibility is heavily placed upon those who go there to take care and be careful. Leave No Trace ethics still apply. In 2019 Alabama Hills was designated a Special Recreation Area, which means more resources for land management will be getting directed this way in the near future. In fact, there was a public comment period in 2020 where MANY people respond with opinions about better land management, which will hopefully keep this space cleaner in the future.
When we eloped in 2019, there was no permit process in place for weddings or elopements in Alabama Hills – since then, a permitting system has been put in place, but it’s not yet listed online. Instead, CONTACT the local BLM office to find out more!
We’ll see in the future how the Special Recreation Area designation changes things, but right now you’ll still notice the Hills are a multi-use recreation area. You will see cows grazing the tough grasses, and other wild animals might visit your campsite at night. There will be other campers spread out across the miles of campsites – some of them are there to climb, ride bikes, take photos of the clear skies at night, or just drink beers while lounging with family.
The rock formations that extend beyond the eastern Sierra foothills of Mount Whitney are equally lovely as they are perplexing. The rounded stones are actually hundreds of millions years old, as old at the Sierras, and layers of sediment in the low valley mean that what we witness are only the peaks of mountains made from granite and volcanic rock. Short hikes take you amongst stunning formations of natural arches and ‘windows’ to the surrounding landscape. In the spring, wildflowers pop up everywhere and tints of green, red, and yellow add color to crevasses. Large orange moths flit between the plants. It’s a high desert for people who love mountains – a rare place.
Climbing farther up Whitney Portal Road will lead you to more established campsites on the far eastern edge of Sequoia National Forest, like Lone Pine Campground. You’ll return to the trees and hear running water, not a 15 minute drive from an exposed and silent desert. There is also Tuttle Creek campground south of Whitney Portal road, which is the only spot in the hills with a pit toilet and potable water, if you’re into that kind of thing. It could also make an excellent base camp for a weekend of climbing the dozens of excellent boulders nearby. If you planned ahead far enough, a trip to Alabama Hills could even accompany a Mount Whitney summit - a day hike for those who can handle 22 miles up and down the tallest mountain in the lower 48. Basically, you can be any level of outdoor enthusiast and find an activity you’ll enjoy while experiencing this epic landscape!
Check out photos from our epic elopement!
Planning an Alabama Hills wedding
Steps to Get Married in the Desert
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To start planning, first pick a date! I need a specific date so I can book you and reserve that date on my calendar, but you’ll also need a date for applying for your permit! No need to have all the rest figured out yet, but start with a date. If you would like a suggestion about the best time of year to elope at Alabama Hills - just ask!
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There are SO MANY places that are perfect for your ceremony in Alabama Hills – in fact, you could play it by ear & choose a location on-site that suits your vision! Boulder fields, mountain backdrops, standing in a granite arch – Alabama Hills is a gorgeous place to say “I do.”
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To secure your permits, and learn more about the permitting process click HERE. Contact the local BLM office & ask about whether your size of event even requires a permit. If you want our help navigating the permitting process, we can definitely do that!
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You’ve done the leg work, properly prepared, settled all the details - now all that’s left to do is get hitched! Your wedding is going to be gorgeous in such a beautiful place - I can’t wait to celebrate with you!
A desert wedding or elopement has a lot of appeal. The southwest United States is becoming an increasingly popular place for destination weddings and adventure elopements because of the vast spaces, impressive natural formations, and ideal weather. Unlike an outdoor ceremony in the Pacific Northwest, the deserts of California, Arizona, or even Utah see much less rain and more sunny days each year. Therefore, you can get married outdoors with a larger window for (likely) nice weather. If you don’t want to deal with summer-vacation sized crowds but still want to be outside, your location needs to be accessible outside the July-September window.
Seasons & Weather - How to choose a wedding date
Spring – Cold nights, sunny days, & a ton of flowers!
Summer – Warm mights, hot days, & dusty dramatic sunsets.
Autumn – Cooler nights, & comfortable days.
Winter – Colder weather, sunny days, & rare snow.
Alabama Hills is different from many deserts because it is what is considered ‘high desert.’ This means quite literally that the location is at a high altitude, about five thousand feet above sea level. That, combined with being the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada, means the wind blowing off the show-capped mountain peaks can be quite chilling during parts of the year. There are also year-round water sources quite close by, giving less the feeling of a parched sandy desert and more that of a hot and rocky, but not barren, landscape. Alabama Hills is not a desert that extends far off into the distance and disappears into a shimmering mirage. It is a very inviting space quite literally down the road from enough greenery to make forest-dwellers feel comfortable venturing out. This is why I say it is a different kind of desert, and perhaps the perfect sort for those who aren’t accustomed to more desolate environs.
After you’ve picked a date & secured permits (if necessary)- these are your next steps:
Okay, so the most basic wedding things have been decided at this point, but there are quite a few more things to consider when getting married in such a remote location. Below I will lay out plainly what you need to consider if you were to plan a wedding at this location, how those considerations can affect other decisions, and what makes Alabama Hills different than other desert locations in the Southwest United States.
First: Decisions you have already made —
Date
Photographer
Location
Number of guests
Next: Decisions that will affect the timeline & ceremony location —
How long will you be in the Hills?
Morning or evening ceremony?
How will you store food?
How much water do you need?
What will you bring/ what will you ask guests to bring?
How many people will be there?
How will people arrive/where will people park?
How many hours do you expect the maximum number of guests to be with you?
Where will guests go to use the restroom that respects LNT ethics and basic sanitation/privacy concerns?
The answers to these questions can be kind of extensive, so I’ll do my best to keep it clear and concise. Most of this will get figured out during the planning process, so if you’re ready to choose a date – SEND ME A MESSAGE!
How many people should you invite to an Alabama Hills Elopement?
We invited nearly 40 people to our wedding, because we thought at the time of planning that was the max. number we would want to attend. In reality, we knew our location choice would probably result in even fewer attendees. I can’t express enough how much I wish the world operated without needing to consider travel funds, but it does. I also kept in perspective that my own wedding is a high priority for me, but I could not expect anyone else to spend the money to travel & take the time off of work when they have their own lives to prioritize. I’m sick of the torn relationships that can come from wedding planning (we’ve all seen the rom-coms that get out of hand)! If someone has to travel a great distance to get to your wedding, and you are upset that they choose not to, I suggest you take this moment to reevaluate things. That’s all I will say about that.
In total, we had 12 guests join us in Alabama Hills. It honestly turned out to be perfect, and I don’t think I would have wanted the group to be any larger.
How to choose a sunrise or sunset ceremony?
We definitely woke up for sunrise on our wedding day – we ventured to the Mobius Arch with just our photographers for portraits first thing in the morning! We didn’t invite guests because we wanted to start the day “just us.” We aren’t big on tradition though, so a “first look” didn’t happen, and we walked down the dirt aisle together later in the day. But you don’t want to miss sunrise alpenglow on Mt. Whitney! Even if it means splitting your day like we did, I highly recommend getting up for sunrise.
How much water should we bring?
The rule of thumb is 1 gallon per person every day in the desert. That’s a minimum. We asked our guests to bring water, but we also brought along about 15 gallons to share just in case. Our van has a 30-gallon water tank that we used the week traveling to Alabama Hills, plus the weekend we were there. Our 30 gallons lasts us about 2 weeks when we travel, but I can’t stress enough that you can’t have too much water in the desert! In fact, my mom didn’t listen to us & definitely got dehydrated on our wedding day, but that’s a story for another day.
Sunset or Sunrise in Alabama Hills
Sunrise & Sunset are the best time for taking photos - you can have both!
Second to sunrise, sunset in Alabama Hills is the best! The mountains opposite of Whitney take their turn to become bright red, and the cotton candy pink that lingers in the dust of the sky once the sun has set feels truly unreal. The night sky is littered with stars, and the evening remains warm in the coziest way. There’s always a breeze coming off the Sierra Nevadas, but the summer nights never get too cold.
If you want the best of both - this is one of the locations where we offer a chance to split your day schedule. It doesn’t make sense everywhere, but if you book a full-day elopement package in Alabama Hills - we’re open to photographing in the morning, taking a nap midday when the sun is hottest, and rejoining in the afternoon to photograph at sunset. This offer is location-specific because Alabama Hills is special. We think it’s the perfect place to sleep away the midday heat in our van, and we want you to feel less stressed about choosing between morning and evening - you’ll want to experience both here, trust me!
↓ Want to learn our favorite trick to planning a wedding without stress? ↓
A Commitment Ceremony Can Make Eloping Easier
HERE’S HOW WE DID IT -
When my then-boyfriend and I became engaged, the first thing we decided on was a wedding date. However, throughout our engagement, having a set date became a point of stress. I became aware of a family illness that had the potential to prevent a pivotal member from attending a summer wedding still many months off. So we made a somewhat split decision to include only immediate family in a super-small paper signing ceremony and became legally married 8 months before our wedding. At first we weren’t going to say anything. If we still plan to have a wedding, why not just keep up the ‘engagement’ pretenses while jointly filing taxes? That seemed like the easiest way to handle it.
It took me about a day to decide that instead of pretending, I’d publicly announce we got married. None of that was for attention. If anything, I’d rather keep our relationship private. But I hate the idea of hiding something so important to me. Instead, I wish I could shout from the rooftops that EVERYONE should feel free to live their own lives by whatever timeline they damn well please. Engaged within only five months of meeting? You do you. Married before the wedding for legal or personal reasons? More power to you and blessings upon your relationship. I want to publicly and vocally support non-traditional marriages and weddings until they become normalized. Until it doesn’t make you falter to consider doing it differently than your parents.
There is no single day, piece of paper, or moment that makes your relationship something strong and beautiful. Your relationship is ALREADY beautiful! Your journey into marriage should be whatever you want it to be. Our journey includes a marriage and a wedding, on dates months apart for reasons that make so much sense to us. Our choices gave us peace of mind and a happiness we both desire. I decided choosing US was much more important than listening to the nay-sayers and anyone who might pass judgement about our timeline.
There were of course a few complainers. Distant relatives who actually had the nerve to say our wedding day won’t mean as much to them now. Whatever! Our wedding day in Alabama Hills is always going to be our anniversary - we get to decide what dates in our lives mean to us.
A commitment ceremony is simply a wedding without the legal stuff
A lot of weddings we photograph don’t include the legal side of things, for many different reasons. Sometimes, it’s simply that you don’t plan on inviting anyone who’s been ordained to your way-out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere elopement. Other times, couples have a reason they wanted to sign the papers on a different date. If you’re eloping in Alabama Hills, I’ll admit it’s kind of the middle of nowhere. There are definitely officiants willing to travel out there (I can send you some recommendations), but don’t feel like that’s something you have to do! You can just as legitimately get married with a commitment ceremony and deal with the government obstacles at a different time. YOU get to decide when your relationship has gone from one step to the next, and I’ll support whatever timeline and journey works best for you -
Want to see photos from our Alabama Hills elopement? Check out our photographers Cedar & Pines: Camping Wedding in the California Desert.
Want some more desert elopement inspiration? Check out our White Sands Elopement Guide!
Want to get married in Alabama Hills?
There’s something so incredibly beautiful about this unique landscape - it’s the perfect place to say “I do!” So, if you’re ready to begin planning your own Alabama Hills elopement, reach out!
