{"id":456267,"date":"2026-09-07T14:18:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T14:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/456267\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T14:18:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T14:18:12","slug":"this-1940s-hollywood-western-film-set-just-2-hours-from-l-a-has-just-been-crowned-californias-best-small-town-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/456267\/","title":{"rendered":"This 1940s Hollywood Western film set, just 2 hours from L.A., has just been crowned California\u2019s best small town for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Pioneertown\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCredit: Anna Krasnopeeva via Shutterstock.<\/p>\n

California<\/a> is packed with small towns that look like they were pulled straight from a movie, from the sun-soaked Scandinavian charm of Solvang<\/a> to alpine escapes like June Lake.<\/a> Now, one of the Golden State\u2019s quirkiest and most beloved destinations is getting a national spotlight for its Old West<\/a> atmosphere and creative desert scene.<\/p>\n

Pioneertown<\/a> was included in Country Living\u2019s<\/a> annual 10 Best Small Towns in America list for 2026, making it one of the 10 best small towns in the country and the only California destination to make the cut.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pioneertown: a Western movie set you can actually visit<\/p>\n

\"OldPhoto by Nitro on Pexels<\/p>\n

Tucked into the high desert near Joshua Tree National Park,<\/a> Pioneertown was literally built for the movies. Established in 1946, the town was designed as a backdrop for Western films and TV shows,<\/a> complete with an 1880s-style Main Street where Hollywood cowboys could supposedly kick off their boots after filming.<\/p>\n

The heart of town is Mane Street, a pedestrian- and horse-friendly stretch lined with Old West storefronts. Visitors can start at the Pioneertown Film Museum<\/a> before browsing cowboy hats, boots, and vintage belt buckles at the Pioneertown General Store.<\/p>\n

The town\u2019s creative side is just as compelling. Soukie Modern sells Moroccan rugs and textiles, while X\u0113ba Bot\u00e1nica offers locally made natural skincare products. For food and drinks, Red Dog Saloon serves Tex-Mex,<\/a> with Sunday evenings bringing honky-tonk music and jalape\u00f1o-infused margaritas.<\/p>\n

\"OldPhoto by Karly Jones on Unsplash.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s the music. Pioneertown\u2019s legendary Pappy & Harriet\u2019s Pioneertown Palace has hosted everyone from Paul McCartney to Robert Plant,<\/a> making this tiny desert town an unlikely live-music destination.<\/p>\n

For an overnight stay, the historic Pioneertown Motel offers hammocks and plenty of desert atmosphere. Country Living also notes that Gene Autry once played poker there until dawn.<\/p>\n

Beyond this beloved and one-of-a-kind desert town, here\u2019s the full lineup of America\u2019s 10 best small towns for 2026:<\/p>\n

Waverly, Alabama<\/p>\n

Livingston, Montana<\/p>\n

Paoli, Wisconsin<\/p>\n

Taos, New Mexico<\/p>\n

Traverse City, Michigan<\/p>\n

Leesburg, Virginia<\/p>\n

Alpine, Texas<\/p>\n

North Branch, New York<\/p>\n

Pioneertown, California<\/p>\n

Pella, Iowa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: Anna Krasnopeeva via Shutterstock. California is packed with small towns that look like they were pulled straight…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":456268,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":["post-456267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}