Keys View sits on the crest of the Little San Bernardino Mountains at about 1,580 metres, and the view from it is the longest in Joshua Tree National Park. Below you the land falls away sharply into the Coachella Valley, a broad, flat basin of date palms, golf courses and spreading towns, with Palm Springs on the near side and the Salton Sea glinting far off to the south on a clear day. Beyond lie the high peaks of the San Jacinto and San Gorgonio mountains, snow-capped for much of the winter.
The drop beneath your feet is not an accident. The long, straight line at the foot of the mountains is the San Andreas Fault, the great crack in the earth where the Pacific and North American plates grind slowly past each other. You can see the line of the fault from the viewpoint, a dark stripe of vegetation where the water collects. The valley is a rift, and the mountains are on the move, though at the pace of a fingernail growing. The viewpoint takes its name from Bill Keys, a homesteader who ran a ranch, a mill and a family in the park for decades.
The road to Keys View is a spur off Park Boulevard, climbing about five miles from Park Boulevard in easy bends through juniper and yucca. It is a quiet, well-surfaced road, with short climbs and a clear view ahead, and a good ride on any bike. Haze can obscure the view, particularly in summer, because smog from the Los Angeles basin drifts in from the west. The best time is after a storm, in winter or early spring, when the air is crisp and the mountains stand out sharp. The wind at the top can be fierce, and the temperature several degrees cooler than at the desert floor.
There are no services at Keys View, only a car park, toilets and a short paved path to the viewpoint. Carry water and warm layers, because it can be breezy even on a hot day. Sunset is the favourite hour, when the valley lights come on.