Looking like an 1880s frontier town, Pioneertown (visitpioneertown.com) was actually built in 1946 as a Hollywood Western movie set. Gene Autry and Roy Rogers were among the original investors, and more than 50 movies were filmed here in the 1940s and '50s.
A short 25-minute drive from the national park's West Entrance, Pioneertown still has human inhabitants and horses. And aside from its popularity for Instagram photo shoots, its block-long row of Old West facades on Mane St (get it?) house actual shops selling vintage clothes and cool locally made wares, including artisanal skincare, pottery and artwork. On Saturday afternoons you might witness Wild West shootouts in the street (donations appreciated).
These days, it's fun to stroll down "Mane St," perhaps popping into the little shops, the film museum or the honky-tonk. Weekends are best for visiting; weekday hours are erratic. Free gunfight and wild west shows kick up their spurs at 2:30pm on alternate Saturdays, October to June.
It's about 5 miles north of 29 Palms Hwy/Hwy 62.
