Welcome To A Classic Wild West Ghost Town!
Careful the Sheriff don’t get angry, or you’ll wind up in Pioneertown’s very cozy jail!
Welcome to a classic California ghost town, which as been restored to its former glory!
Pioneertown, California is located about 130 miles east of Los Angeles – an easy drive through sprawling series of cities, until you head up into the desert!
This classic Wild West ghost town was salvaged and restored, lovingly reminding you of a colorful time in California’s past…
The area is now surrounded by privately and federally protected lands.
Hooray For Hollywood!
Thanks to Hollywood, Pioneertown survives and thrives!
Who wants to spend the night and perhaps have a bath?
Actor Dick Curtis started up the town in 1946 as an 1880’s themed Old West town, with sets designed to be sued as movie sets.
Hundreds of Westerns and early television shows were filmed in Pioneertown, including The Cisco Kid and Edgar Buchanan’s “Judge Roy Bean”.
Of course, the best way to visit is to mosey on in on horseback – and you can tie up at the general store if you need some supplies for the visit…
As of 2019, Pioneertown had a population of 420 – and as you can see, the town is dotted with reminders of a time long ago…
As you can see, they have retained the charm of a small Wild West town…offering a ton of great backdrops for photos – and lots of souvenirs as well…
In July 2006, parts of Pioneertown were burned in the Sawtooth Complex fire, which also burned into Yucca Valley and Morongo Valley.
Firefighters managed to save the historic movie-set buildings, but much of the surrounding desert habitat was damaged.
Welcome To Pappy & Harriott’s!
Among the buildings saved was the iconic restaurant and bar Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, a longtime local club and landmark that, until the pandemic, has regular live music and always terrific food!
Pioneertown is a fun visit, nestled amid some of California’s greatest parks and deserts.
On our way out, we noticed a very important restaurant:
Well, if they were going to take the time to name the place after me, the least I could do was to eat there!
I had a classic All-American burger, piled with lettuce, tomato, pickle and ketchup…
A very nice and tasty touch was the special seasoning on the fries…delicious!
Very close by is one of our country’s greatest National Parks:
Joshua Tree National Park is an incredible place to explore, and I you click on my story here you can se much much more!
About eight hours east will let you discover America’s most famous Wild West town:
Welcome To Tombstone!
Yes, the read town of Tombstone – where the “Gunfight At The OK Corral” took place!
Click here to see the town up close and a reenactment of the actual OK Corral gunfight!
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Categories: Art, Books / Media, Exotic Travel, Memoirs, nature, Pop Culture, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir
johnrieber 
Wow! I thought I knew all of the tourist traps/attractions in the state, but I had not heard of Pioneertown. Interesting. This was a recent trip…during the pandemic? I’m glad you got to go. Thanks for sharing. Tombstone had already been on the itinerary for a big road trip this fall.
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NO NO NO…pandemic travel is out, nothing open…this is a look back at a trip from two years ago. I thought I referenced that, sorry!
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I would love to visit! This is the chapter in “Little House in the Big Woods”, titled Going to Town. I read the book aloud to my class every year. I really need to visit a National Park, and Joshua Tree looks to be wonderful. Well, every National Park is wonderful. And the burger looks yummy!
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Thanks!
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You’re welcome!
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I’d love visit this ghost town!
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Love this John! I’ve never heard of Pioneertown! What fun! I’ll have to take it in on a road trip and include Joshua Tree too! 🙂
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I would love to visit both Pioneertown and Tombstone, John. I know all about the shoot out at OK Corral and I remember your post about it too. Great pictures and the burger looks delicious.
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I had a mental image of towns like Tombstone when I was writing about Wichita in my recent serial. Pioneertown also fits the bill for my imagination. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pete, they have done a night job of restoring the vintage look of that era…lots of tourist stuff of course, but what else can you do but film a movie there anyway? Thanks for commenting!
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I love these ghost towns and have visited a few of them but not this one. Looks like fun. Can you believe there is one not too far from us here in Spain? It was built for some of the spaghetti westerns years ago. The set is open to visitors.
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I love that idea! “Spaghetti westerns” from Italy and Spain are some of the best westerns ever made! Thanks for commenting!
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How cool is this place! I’d love to go here. I wouldn’t say no to those chips either with the ‘special’ seasoning. Yum! x
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Yes, it’s a fun trip into the past, and not far from LA – and Joshua Tree, Palm Springs too!
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