Yucca Valley is an incorporated town in San Bernardino County, California, with a population of 21,738 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the Mojave Desert, about 20 miles north of Palm Springs and 49 miles east of San Bernardino, at an elevation of roughly 3,300 feet. The town is bordered by Joshua Tree National Park to the south and the San Bernardino Mountains to the west.
Historically, Native Americans inhabited the area. In the late 1950s, Norman J. Essig helped develop Yucca Valley as a private retreat for entertainment celebrities, acquiring land and establishing main roads. Notably, he gave composer Jimmy Van Heusen land to build a house still visible on a central hill. The town has experienced significant natural events, including major earthquakes in 1992 and 1999, and the 2006 Sawtooth Complex wildfire, which burned 64,000 acres and affected Yucca Valley and surrounding areas.









