Crime Scene and Trauma Cleanup in Lone Pine, CA

Lone Pine is a census-designated place in Inyo County, in the Owens Valley about 16 miles south-southeast of Independence, wedged between the Sierra Nevada to the west and the Inyo Mountains to the east.

The first cabin at Lone Pine was built in the winter of 1861-62, a settlement grew over the next two years, and the Lone Pine post office opened in 1870.

The great 1872 Owens Valley earthquake nearly wiped Lone Pine out, killing roughly a third of its approximately 100 residents, but the town rebuilt.

Lone Pine is the gateway to Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States; three Lone Pine residents — Charles Begole, J. J. Lucas, and Albert H. Johnson — made the first recorded ascent on August 18, 1873.

Naturalist John Muir made his own first ascent of Mount Whitney on October 21, 1873, climbing from the east by what is now the Mountaineer's Route.

The historic trail from Lone Pine up to Whitney Portal was engineered by Lone Pine resident Gustave F. Marsh, and its lower portion has been named a National Historic Trail.

Since a film company came to the nearby Alabama Hills in 1920 to shoot the silent film The Round-Up, more than 400 films, 100 television episodes, and countless commercials have been shot around Lone Pine — including Gunga Din, How the West Was Won, Tremors, and Gladiator.

Lone Pine celebrates that heritage with the Beverly and Jim Rogers Museum of Lone Pine Film History, opened in 2006, and an annual Lone Pine Film Festival held since 1990.

Lone Pine had a population of 2,014 at the 2020 census, down slightly from 2,035 at the 2010 census.

Lone Pine skews older than most towns: the median age was 46.5 years in 2020, and about a quarter of residents were 65 or older.