As Big Bear Lake’s premier hiking guide, I often get asked what are the best dog-friendly Big Bear Lake activities. Obviously hiking with man’s best friend is most outstanding way to spend your day beneath the pines. But not everyone wants to hike ten miles every day of their outdoor vacation like a certain someone I know. (Me and my dog) Big Bear Lake in southern California is an alpine wonderland year-round for hikes with man’s best friend. Jeep tours are another fabulous way to enjoy an afternoon out in nature with your four-legged Buddy or Champ. I’m a lifelong resident, outdoor explorer, and the most knowledgeable nature guide anywhere in the southern California Mountains but even I had never ventured to Pioneertown from Big Bear Lake. Until today!
Off-road adventure to Pioneertown
If you are visiting the mountains of southern California this winter season a Jeep tour driving the backroads to Yucca Valley is truly one of the best dog-friendly Big Bear Lake activities! Of course, if you plan to drive Burn’s Canyon, the winding dirt road to Pioneertown there are some things you should know! This is not a drive for a stock Subaru Crosstrek! Having the correct vehicle is key for this kind of off-road adventure. When we drive the backroads to Pioneertown we take my lifted Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk or my boyfriend’s off-road Titan truck with big-ass Michelin tires. The mileage to get to Pioneertown is only about twenty miles of off-road dirt trails but expect this drive to take over two hours one way. That kind of depends on how many times you stop to take the dog for a little walk or take selfies with Joshua trees.
The first scenic place you come to along Burn’s Canyon is the Eye of God. This is a giant quartz megalith. It was a sacred spot for the native Serrano Americans who settled in Big Bear Lake two thousand years ago. Please don’t remove any quartz from this location. This is a sacred area still for the native people! It’s also a great spot to get some photos over looking scenic Baldwin Lake in the distance.
About two miles past the Eye of God you will come across your first rock obstacle in the drive. This area usually still has cell phone reception so if you have any issues getting across this wash, you know who to call! This is also the point in the drive, you can back up the road and turn around if this kind of off-roading is too much for your rig. This little section near Arreste Creek is about as bad as the dirt road gets the entire drive. The Arreste Creek area is a nice place to stop to walk around. In early spring the water is usually flowing quite nicely here. As you drive near Arreste Creek, you will notice you are in the middle of an old burn scar. This was from a wildfire in the 90’s.
Dog-friendly Big Bear Lake backroads
Visiting Pioneertown on the back of a dirt bike or from the confines of an open-air Jeep is a very popular pastime in dog-friendly Big Bear Lake California. Pioneertown is only something like twenty miles as the bald eagles soar from the Big Bear Valley to the desert floor. But the Jeep trails twist and turn in those twenty miles. The dirt roads go from pure sand to jagged rocks to almost boulder climbing in spots, especially near the Arreste Creek wash.
Between the Eeye of God and Arreste Creek be on the lookout for the wild burros of Big Bear Lake. These jackasses have been roaming the Big Bear Valley since the late 1800s. The burros were turned loose after Big Bear’s Gold Rush came to a bust. Burros are resilient creatures and they survive well in the mountains of southern California, even when the temperatures dip to zero degrees in the wintertime. Even in the dead of winter, you will see them with cute little babies at their sides.
The burros were relocated to the Arreste Creek drainage in the seventies. Arreste Creek is a year-round source of water for the burros. So this is a good location for them to live out their days without getting into trouble.
A ghost town or a dog park?
When we planned a day of off-roading, outdoor adventures and maybe a side of thrift store shopping in Yucca Valley I had no idea how dog-friendly this day of adventures would be! No one talks about just how dog-friendly Pioneertown is! The whole place is literally an off-leash dog park with friendly dogs everywhere! Even the bar we went into, the Red Dog Saloon was dog-friendly indoors and out. The Red Dog Saloon has been in business since 1946. It was built originally as part of a film set. They have a fantastic Tex-Mex menu that is very unique to Yucca Valley. Yes, expect to find nopales and mezcal on these types of menus.
“Pioneertown became a stomping ground for bikers, psychedelic wanderers, homesteaders, hippies, libertarians, street kids, UFO hunters and lost souls those seeking visions and untamed beauty.”
Pioneertown was built for the movie industry to shoot Western scenes. There was never actually any gold mining taking place in this area. Most all of the old buildings you see were a workplace for actors like Gene Autry back in the heyday of old Westerns.
In my opinion the prettiest part of the drive is right in the middle, near the junction for Tip Top Mountain. Tip Top Mountain offers some amazing views over the Morongo Basin and Burn’s Canyon however it is a Jeep trail and is not for stock vehicles or the faint of heart.
Very close to the turn-off for Tip Top Mountain, you will pass through Round Valley. This high desert valley is filled with enormous Joshua Trees and is just a beautiful place to take a break from the drive and hike around a bit. This is the dessert and even though it may be winter, rattlesnakes can still be seen in this area year round.
Once you leave the Big Bear part of the drive you will notice there is no cell phone service anywhere down in the Morongo Basin. Isn’t it amazing you can easily go on a day trip to someplace in Southern California where there is no Internet, no TikTok or SnapChat to distract?
Prepare for a day in the wilderness
Bring extra water, snacks and extra warm clothes in the winter months. When adventuring or overlanding in the backcountry you never know what could happen to your vehicle. If the unthinkable happens and you break down amongst the Joshua Trees at Round Valley, well you might be able to get an off-road tow truck in the same night. And you may have to hike out for miles to get help. On the day we went off-roading through Burn’s Canyon, we did not see another vehicle until basically we were down on the desert floor. This is typically how busy with traffic this area is mid-week in December. It helps to have connections at Score Off-Road Rescue. They do not always go out and rescue stranded off-roaders but have been known to from time to time. Anytime you explore the backroads, you take the chance of a breakdown. I have been there before. I know!
Before going out for an off-road adventure
- Bring a portable air pump and tire pressure gauge
- Make sure your spare tire is in good working order.
- Let your family know where you are going and when you will be back.
Prepare to enjoy some great Tex-Mex food in the Yucca Valley!
As a dog lover, the Red Dog Saloon is my favorite location to go to lunch after driving all the way to Pioneertown on the dusty backroads. Pioneertown has great breakfast burritos that are full of chorizo. Their Chilaquiles, served until noon are so good! All their food is made to order fresh. I loved their carnitas tacos, I could have inhaled multiple! And their mezcal margaritas were so nice to sip on in the sun in their giant comfy dog park.
Pappy’s and Harriets
Obviously, Pappy’s and Harriot’s is the well-known cowboy bar everybody frequents in Pioneertown. They have hosted top acts like Paul McCartney to Everclear over the years. They are also well-known for serving up some tasty barbeque. Unfortunately, we missed them for lunch on this trip as they only serve lunch on Thursday-Sundays. Pappy’s and Harriots has been serving up the best Santa Maria-style bar-be-que in southern California since 1982.
The best sourdough in the old West!
What says Gold Rush more than sourdough? When taking a trip to Yucca Valley, I have to make a stop at Luna’s Bakery (No, not named for my Luna, the adventure Catahoula!) Have you ever tried a sourdough croissant? Trust me. You need to. It is the thing missing from your life.
The go-to restaurant in Yucca Valley for healthy food is the Frontier Cafe. You won’t find better coffee than this anywhere in the Yucca Valley! Their artichoke panini is so good; I could gorge myself on multiple! Plus they do some fanatic fresh pressed juices. Take a break from the thrift store adventures and get lunch at the Frontier Cafe.
The cowboy hippie fashion scene in Yucca Valley
When visiting Pioneertown, always dress up in your finest cowgirl wear! Hippie cowgirl fashion is a big thing in Yucca Valley. You may just feel like some of these folks just walked off the set of Yellowstone! On this trip down to Yucca Valley, we had plans to hike around in the high desert with our adventure pup a bit; I wasn’t dressed for a Wild West photo shoot on this particular occasion. However, next time I will for sure wear my best prairie girl dress.
The best food in the Wild West
I’ll tell you if you are a foodie like I am then none of these other California ghost towns has what Pioneertown and Yucca Valley have, And that is world-class restaurants. Yes, you will find hippie food and drinks now inspired by all those Los Angeles expats who call Yucca Valley home for the short California winter season. YuccaValley also has world-class thrift stores. Trust me, if visiting Yucca Valley, dedicate two hours of your life just for some thrift store treasure hunting!
Other California ghost towns to explore
- Bodie is an awesome ghost town to visit as long as you don’t visit with a group of assholes. (True story) For more on adventuring at Bodie State Park check out this link.
- When it comes down to dog-friendly Big Bear Lake, a day of exploring, Jeeping or just hiking at Holcomb Valley is not to be missed. Yes, this was where the Gold Rush happened in the Big Bear Valley back in the late 1800s. That pioneering moment when Billy Holcomb’s foot kicked a piece of quartz and that chunk of quartz had gold in side started the whole movement to settle the Big Bear Valley. But there was really not very much “Gold in them that hills” as the settlers of the town of Belleville would soon learn.
Historic stuff at the Holcomb Valley ghost town. - Calico Ghost Town is easy to get to, near the mountains of southern California. It’s a cute little ghost town with characters dressed up in old-time wear. They are happy to take photos with your group or tell you all about Calico ghost town lore.
Winter is the best season to visit Pioneertown and Yucca Valley. You don’t want to be off-roading down to the desert when summertime temperatures are in the hundreds and the rattlesnakes are everywhere. Winter can be just nutty with tourism in Yucca Valley but this is the best time to visit. April can be great also if the high desert gets a super bloom in that particular year. December through March are the months that 2.8 million tourists from all over the country visit Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree for those desert winter sunsets. Expect to see a lot of snowbird license plates from Idaho and Montana when checking out Yucca Valley in winter.
If you are into that Jeep and off-roading scene and find yourself in Big Bear this wintertime, okay we may not have great snow yet for skiing and playing in the snow. But this relatively dry winter is a great excuse to off-road to Pioneertown! There is so much more to do in the Yucca Valley than just Joshua Tree National Park! Great California Tex-Mex cuisine, the best thrift store shopping on the West Coast and honestly, the people watching does not get any better than Yucca Valley!
