Keys View is the high balcony of Joshua Tree National Park. A side road climbs south from Park Boulevard for about ten kilometres to a viewpoint on the crest of the Little San Bernardino Mountains at around 1,580 metres, and from the edge you look out over the whole of the Coachella Valley. Below you is Palm Springs and its satellite towns, beyond them the Salton Sea glittering in the haze, and across the valley Mount San Jacinto and Mount San Gorgonio rise to over 3,000 metres, often capped with snow in winter.
The view also shows the San Andreas Fault, which runs along the foot of the mountains below you. It is the boundary between the Pacific and North American plates, and from here you can trace its line across the valley floor as a series of low ridges and changes in vegetation. On a clear day it is a geology lesson laid out in front of you, though on many days the haze from Los Angeles and the valley makes the distance fade into a blue blur.
The road up to Keys View is one of the best rides in the park, with smooth asphalt, gentle curves and steady climbing through a forest of Joshua trees and junipers. The air gets cooler as you climb, and in winter there can be frost or even snow at the top. The road is a dead end, so you will have to come back the same way, but the view is worth it.
The viewpoint is the place to watch the sunset in Joshua Tree. As the sun drops behind the mountains to the west, the valley below turns gold and pink, and the lights of the towns begin to twinkle. It can be crowded, but there is a short paved trail along the ridge where you can find a quieter spot.
Keys View has a car park and toilets and that is all. The nearest fuel is in Twentynine Palms or Joshua Tree, both about thirty kilometres away by road. The wind can be strong and cold at the top, so bring an extra layer even in spring.