Pioneertown, California

Everyone knows Hollywood, California. Big lights, movies, and famous actors come to mind, but few visitors know about Pioneertown! 

​The built-for-TV town just two hours outside of Los Angeles has been the setting for dozens of western films and television shows dating back to the 1940s.

​We visited Pioneertown on our road trip to Palm Springs, read about that two-day adventure in detail, here!

A Joshua Treet.

Entering the national park!

The Cholla Cactus Garden.

We went to Joshua Tree National Park before visiting Pioneertown, learn more here!

Pioneertown is located on the edge of The Mojave Desert making it the perfect backdrop for any American Western story. Sadly, it seemed that the town is rarely used anymore for movies or really much of anything. ​

The most photographed post office in the USA!

I visited in the middle of the day on a Tuesday in mid-June. It probably wasn’t the most “happening” time to visit a ghost town. Even the saloon was closed! 

For us, it was just a quick stop and walk through time and history instead of a true taste of a wild-west town. 

We were really hoping to see a shootout on Main Street or get a shot of whiskey at Pappy and Harriet’s, but unfortunately, those things didn’t happen.

Even though tumbleweeds could have rolled in front of us, it was still a great stop, and I would recommend stopping on your way out of Joshua Tree National Park and seeing if you can have a better time than we did. 

While you’re at it, read all about Joshua Tree and other things to do in the Palm Springs area in my guides below!