The hook
In 1946 a group of Western movie stars built a fake 1880s town in the high desert to film in and live in, and it's still standing, still a real town, with a roadhouse out back that books serious music.
01Why it's worth it
Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and a couple dozen other Hollywood Western people had an idea in 1946: instead of building a movie set and tearing it down, build a working 1880s town they could film in and live in at once, a real Mane Street with a motel, a saloon, a grocery, and a bowling alley that doubled as sets. It worked. Gene Autry shot his show here for years, more than fifty films and TV episodes used the street, and people actually moved in. The town's still here, Mane Street on the National Register, part sun-bleached film set and part functioning desert town. Out at the edge of it is Pappy and Harriet's, a barbecue roadhouse that grew into one of the most beloved small music venues in the country, the kind of middle-of-nowhere stage that pulls in everyone from desert bands to Paul McCartney. Come for the old street, stay for the ribs and whoever's playing.
02How to experience it
Pioneertown is up the hill from Yucca Valley, near Joshua Tree, about eight hours from the Bay. Walk Mane Street in daylight, when there are still cowboy stunt shows some weekends, then eat and catch a set at Pappy and Harriet's, but book that ahead because it sells out. It pairs naturally with a Joshua Tree trip.