Tag: High Desert

  • Pioneertown

    Pioneertown

    53688 PIONEERTOWN ROAD
    PIONEERTOWN

    This collection of rickety wooden buildings lining a small stretch of desert road about 30 miles outside Palm Springs began life as a movie set. Created by Hollywood heavyweights Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans in 1946, Pioneertown promptly became a popular destination for shooting Westerns. When the genre died out in the late ‘60s, the complex was left intact and still looks much the same as it did when John Wayne and Bud Abbott roamed the dusty grounds. Today, you’ll catch tourists wandering the premises, popping in and out of the wood-shingled specialty shops, taking in Wild West shows, grabbing a meal at local favorite Pappy + Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace(which made my lunch list above) and reveling in the charmingly kitschy atmosphere.

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  • Joshua Tree National Park

    Joshua Tree National Park

    6544 PARK BOULEVARD
    JOSHUA TREE

    A day trip to Joshua Tree National Park, located about 40 miles northeast of Palm Springs, is a must for any desert visitor! While the entire 800,000-acre park is worth checking out, offering some of the most beautiful scenery known to man, there are a few stand-out spots that shouldn’t be missed, including the aptly-named Skull Rock (pictured), Jumbo Rocks, Arch Rock, the Cholla Cactus Garden and Keys View, an awe-inspiring lookout point featuring panoramic vistas of the entire Valley, with even the San Andreas Faultline visible on a clear day! (Note – there are three entrances to the park. The address above denotes the visitor center for the entrance closest to downtown Palm Springs.)

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