Pioneertown is a real-deal Western movie set complete with a swinging-door saloon, a bank to hold up (Butch & Sundance-style) and a gunsmith to outfit your weapons. Cinematic cowboy Roy Rogers broke ground here back in 1946 and since then over 200 movies and TV shows have been filmed here, including Annie Oakley and The Cisco Kid. Best of all, your Deputy Dawg is welcome!

DID YOU KNOW? Roy Rogers often appeared on screen with his dog Bullet – a German Shepherd with a knack for biting the gun right out of the hand of the bad guys and an ability to keep pace when Rogers galloped off on his palomino horse Trigger!

The old iron horse tether also works remarkably well for dogs.

Ye-hawwwwww!

WHERE TO STAY: The dog-friendly Pioneertown Motel is the only place to stay in Pioneertown. Literally. But it’s also the perfect place,  full of creaky character, sun-bleached saddles and rooms named for the stars who stayed there during filming. We chose Barbara Stanwyck – all cool tile flooring, hand-stitched quilting and horseshoe motifs. Room rates start at $110 with a reasonable $15 pet fee. No restrictions.

UPDATE: The Pioneertown Motel has been refurbished and hip-ified since our visit and now has a supercool new website to match! The room decor now has a unified theme – exposed beam ceilings, cowhide floor rugs and blanket-style bed accents.

Photo credit: Pioneertown Motel

WHERE TO EAT: Pappy & Harriet’s Even though the desert might now be pitch black and the terrain uneven you will be safely guided on the five minute walk from the Pioneertown Motel to Pappy & Harriet’s by your dog’s nose. A great hulking Mesquite wood grill sends flavorsome smoke signals into the night air so huddle up at one of the rustic patio tables, order a rack of ribs and sit in sauce-smirched delight, tapping your toes/paws/spurs along to the live band.

Photo credit: You Have Got To Go Here

Dogs are not allowed inside but you have to take a peek  – the clientele are a beguiling mix of desert cowboys, hipster saloon girls and a few old-timers who look like they just got done panning for gold, all chinking booze supped from mason jars.

WHAT TO DO: One of the most beautiful and memorable things you can do in the desert is watch a meteor shower. My friend Amy invited Bodie & I along and advised us to dress like we were heading to Antarctica – desert temperatures drop dramatically at night and you’ll need to set the alarm for around 3am. Without her encouraging presence we may have been tempted to stay in bed but, with the lure of Irish Coffee and cookies, she got us to stagger a few feet from our room and then cocooned us in sleeping bags layered with fleece blankets. (Bodie proved to be a marvelous heat-generator as we got horizontal under the night sky.) Just as I was starting to wonder about the presence of coyotes and snakes in the neighbouring undergrowth it happened – a shooting star whooshed across the heavens. ‘Oooooh!’ we cooed with child-like glee. Suddenly the cold and the tiredness didn’t matter a jot – every time we saw another it was like being sprinkled with fairy dust.

Photo credit: Ashed on Imagur

BY DAY: The Mane Street Stampede Wild West Show comes to town every Saturday at 2.30pm from April to October. Great fun for human onlookers but the shoot-outs and carousing are something to avoid if your dog is of a nervous disposition!

Other than that, the barren land around Pioneertown makes for a pleasingly restriction-free alternative to Joshua Tree National Park where dogs are not permitted to stray more than 100 feet from the roads and picnic areas and are banned entirely from all trails. (Click here for the park’s full Pet Policy.) Of course the Joshua Trees may be a bit few and far between by comparison but you can still have your U2 moment. (Bodie as Bone-O.)

I’ve never been more thankful for modern car suspension after clapping eyes on this rickety old wagon – look at those spine-jiggling wheels! (If you zoom in on Bodie’s chops you will see he looks like he should be wearing a black vest with a pocketwatch and puffing on a cigar.)

HOW TO GET THERE: Dog-friendly Pioneertown is in the Yucca Valley, just 40 minutes drive from Palm Springs or 25 minutes from Joshua Tree National Park.

ADDRESS FOR YOUR GPS: 53688 Pioneertown Road, Pioneertown, CA, 92268

TRAVEL TIP: This is the desert so chillax. Besides, you don’t want to travel more than 10mph on the dirt roads or you’ll be enveloped in a yellow dust cloud and emerge the same color as Bodie.

FROM PALM SPRINGS TO PIONEERTOWN – BELINDA HITS THE ROAD FOR ENTERPRISE’S ONLINE TRAVEL MAGAZINE 

Nearby dog-friendly attractions and accommodations: