Walk to Pappy's Resin Tub Fireplace Plunge Pool

Howdy, partner — welcome to the High Desert.
I’m Layla, and if you trace my roots, they run deep through the Morongo Basin and Palm Springs — this rugged, wide-open corner of Southern California has been home for as long as I can remember. There’s something about the way the light hits the Joshua trees at golden hour, or how the whole desert goes quiet and star-strewn at night, that I’ve never gotten tired of. I still catch myself pulling over just to look.
Before I was flipping mattresses and fluffing pillows, I spent my career in Special Education, which — if you ask me — is the best training a person can have for hospitality. Patience, problem-solving, and a genuine love of making people feel comfortable? That’s the whole job, whether you’re in a classroom or checking in a weary traveler at 10pm.
These days, I split my time between selling real estate across Joshua Tree and the High Desert, tending a small and increasingly opinionated flock of backyard chickens, and fussing over every last design detail at my two Pioneertown properties — Nancy Berry Coral and Happy Trails Retreat. Both are a love letter to the Old West characters who once called this stretch of desert home, done up in oxblood and copper, with a fieldstone fireplace, a chef’s kitchen, and — because a wrangler deserves to unwind too — a barrel sauna and cold plunge waiting for you after a long day of exploring.
I host because I love this land, and I love sharing it. There’s a particular kind of magic in watching a guest arrive road-weary and skeptical, and leave a few days later talking about the silence, the sky, and how they’ve already started planning their next trip back. That transformation — that’s why I do this.
So kick off your boots, pour something cold, and let the desert do what it does best. I’m just down the road if you need anything — and yes, the chickens have names, and yes, I will tell you all of them if you let me.
Happy trails,
Layla

I didn’t stumble onto Pioneertown by accident — I found my way here the way most folks do, chasing something a little slower and a little truer than what I’d known before.
I’ve got roots in the Palm Springs area, so the High Desert was never a foreign place to me. But Pioneertown is different. Built in the 1940s as a live-in Western movie set for the likes of Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, it’s one of the places where the old myth of the West wasn’t just filmed — it was actually lived in. The false-front buildings, the dusty main street, the sense that a shootout might break out any minute — it’s not a theme, it’s history you can still put your hands on.
What sold me, though, wasn’t just the town’s story. It was the land itself. At around 4,000 feet elevation, Pioneertown sits just high enough to catch a breeze the valley floor doesn’t get, with sweeping views and sky that goes on forever. Out here, the noise of everyday life falls away fast. You start noticing things again — the sound of wind through creosote, the ridiculous number of stars, the particular quiet that only high desert nights have.
As someone who’s spent my career thinking about how to make people feel comfortable — first in a classroom, now in real estate and hospitality — I saw Pioneertown as a place where I could build something that actually honors where it stands. Not a generic desert rental, but a real tribute to the characters and grit that built this town. That’s why both of my properties lean into that Old West spirit, right down to the horse mural, wood accents and the fieldstone fireplace, while still giving guests modern comforts like a chef’s kitchen and a sauna to unwind in after a day of exploring.
Mostly, I chose Pioneertown because it still feels like a secret worth keeping — and worth sharing carefully. Every time I turn onto Pioneertown Road and the pavement gives way to dust, I remember exactly why I planted roots here. I hope you feel a little bit of that same magic during your stay.

Happy Trails Retreat isn’t just named after Roy Rogers and Dale Evans’ famous send-off — it’s built in their spirit. This is a place for folks who ride hard, rest well, and always leave a little better than they arrived.
Tucked on 2.5 acres at roughly 4,000 feet in Pioneertown, the retreat sits high enough to catch cool desert breezes and clear night skies. Sleeping up to 6, it’s spacious enough for a family reunion or a long weekend with your closest friends, without ever feeling cramped or impersonal.
Step inside and you’ll feel the Old West done right — not costume-shop kitsch, but a genuine homage to the singing cowboy and cowgirl who helped put this stretch of desert on the map. A fieldstone fireplace anchors the main living space, the kind you want to sit in front of after a day of hiking Joshua Tree. The chef’s kitchen is fully outfitted for anyone who actually wants to cook out here — this isn’t a place where you’re stuck eating takeout on paper plates.
But the detail guests talk about most is the wellness setup. We added an electric barrel sauna and a stock tank pool, right on the property. After a day of scrambling over boulders or exploring Pioneertown’s Mane Street, there’s nothing quite like sweating it out under the stars, then plunging into water with the Milky Way overhead. It’s become the signature Happy Trails experience — equal parts rustic and restorative.
What truly makes this place unique, though, is intention. Every design choice, from the fireplace stone to the sauna’s placement, was made to honor Pioneertown’s history while giving modern guests something they’ll actually use and remember. This isn’t a rental that happens to be in the desert — it’s a retreat built for the desert, and for the kind of guest who wants to slow down, look up, and feel like they’ve truly gotten away.
Saddle up, settle in, and let Happy Trails do what it does best.