See gunslingers, tour movie sets, and dine on great Tex-Mex.

Pioneertown is a convincing step back into the Old West. Built as a movie set in 1946 where films starring Gene Autry, the Cisco Kid, and Annie Oakley were shot, it now serves as a lively and entertaining peek at the West's raucous past. Your kids will love kicking up dust along Mane Street with its liveries and wagons and hitching posts, and they’ll get an even bigger kick out of the Wild West gunfights staged in the street on weekends. Gunslingers dish out slapstick and sass before aiming and firing--blanks, of course.

The desert can get mighty hot come summer, but there are plenty of cool retreats here. Slip into the air-conditioned relief of Pioneer Bowl. Opened by Roy Rogers in 1949, the bowling alley doesn’t look much different now than it did decades ago. Rogers hired school kids as pinsetters until automatic pin-setting equipment was installed in the 1950s. The place still houses an amazing collection of vintage pinball machines, ready for you and the kids to try your luck. Don't miss Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, where you can get a mighty plateful of Tex-Mex food (mesquite-fired meats slathered in barbecue sauce) in enormous portions. And the live music—everything from country to folk and rock--adds to the fun and festive feel.