Can I Keep Horses on My High Desert Property?

Wide-open spaces are one of the reasons people are drawn to California's High Desert. If you're looking at an acre, five acres or even ten acres around Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley or Twentynine Palms, you may be picturing more than a house and a view.

You may be picturing horses.

But here's something important to know before buying: having enough land does not automatically mean you can keep horses on it.

Whether horses are allowed can depend on the property's zoning, parcel size, location and local animal-keeping regulations. The rules can also change depending on whether the property is located within an incorporated town or city or in an unincorporated area of San Bernardino County.

If horses are part of your plans, this is something worth investigating before you buy the property.

How Much Land Do I Need to Keep Horses in the High Desert?

There isn't one acreage requirement that applies to every High Desert property.

For properties in unincorporated San Bernardino County with the common RS (Single Residential) or RL (Rural Living) zoning, the County currently states that keeping horses as an accessory residential use generally requires:

• A minimum parcel size of 20,000 square feet
• At least 60 feet of frontage
• A density of one horse per 10,000 square feet
• A maximum cumulative total of nine large domesticated animals per parcel

Those numbers are useful as a starting point, but they should not be interpreted as permission to keep horses on every parcel meeting those size requirements.

The actual zoning and applicable development standards for the individual property still need to be verified.

Can I Keep Horses on Property in Joshua Tree?

Joshua Tree is an unincorporated community, so land-use regulations generally fall under San Bernardino County rather than a separate Joshua Tree city government.

That doesn't mean every Joshua Tree parcel is automatically horse property.

Joshua Tree has properties with different zoning classifications, parcel sizes and physical characteristics. A five-acre parcel may appear perfect for horses when you're looking at an aerial map, but acreage alone doesn't tell you everything you need to know.

Before buying Joshua Tree property for horses, check the property's zoning and confirm that your intended animal-keeping use is permitted.

This is another reason I recommend investigating a parcel by APN rather than relying solely on the description in a real estate listing.

What About Horse Property in Yucca Valley?

Yucca Valley has its own municipal zoning regulations, making it especially important not to assume that County rules apply to a property located within Town limits.

Yucca Valley has a Large Animal Overlay District, and the Town's General Plan specifically recognizes equestrian and animal-keeping uses within several of its rural residential land-use categories.

That makes Yucca Valley an interesting area for buyers looking for a home with room for horses, but the specific property still matters.

Two homes with similar acreage could have different zoning or overlay considerations.

If a listing says "horse property," verify it.

If a listing doesn't mention horses but the property otherwise looks ideal, investigate it rather than assuming they aren't allowed.

Can I Keep Horses in Twentynine Palms?

Properties within the City of Twentynine Palms are subject to City regulations rather than the County rules that apply to nearby unincorporated areas.

This distinction can become confusing because a property may have a Twentynine Palms mailing address without necessarily being located within the incorporated city boundaries.

The same issue occurs throughout the High Desert.

The mailing address does not always tell you which land-use authority governs the property.

If keeping horses is important to you, determine whether the parcel is within city limits or an unincorporated County area and then verify the applicable zoning and animal-keeping requirements.

What Should I Look for When Buying High Desert Horse Property?

Zoning is important, but it isn't the only consideration.

A property can technically allow horses and still be a poor choice for actually keeping them.

Here are some of the things I would investigate when considering High Desert horse property.

Water

Where is the water going to come from?

A property with public water service presents a very different situation from remote acreage requiring hauled water or a private well.

Don't assume that because you see houses nearby, water is available to the parcel you're considering.

Access

High Desert land can look deceptively accessible on a map.

A dirt road may be perfectly manageable in a passenger car, difficult after heavy rain, or unsuitable for routinely pulling a horse trailer.

You should understand both the legal access and the practical access to the property.

Terrain

Five acres isn't always five usable acres.

Rock formations, washes, steep slopes, drainage areas and native vegetation can significantly reduce the portion of a parcel that works for corrals, shelters or other horse-related improvements.

A flatter parcel may be considerably more useful for horses than a larger parcel with difficult terrain.

Fencing and Existing Improvements

Existing fencing, corrals, barns and shelters can add significant value to a horse buyer—but don't automatically assume an existing structure was legally constructed or permitted.

If an improvement is important to your decision to purchase the property, investigate it during your due-diligence period.

Shade and Shelter

The High Desert climate matters.

Summer heat can be intense, while winter nights can be surprisingly cold and windy. Think about where animals will have appropriate shade and shelter and whether additional structures will be needed.

Trailer Access and Turnaround Space

This one is easy to overlook when you're standing on several acres of open desert.

Can you actually get a truck and horse trailer onto the property comfortably?

Can you turn it around?

Is the gate wide enough?

Is the access road maintained well enough for regular use?

The answers may matter just as much as the acreage.

What If I Want to Run a Horse Business From the Property?

Keeping your own horses and operating a commercial horse-related business are not necessarily treated the same way.

Boarding horses, providing riding lessons, breeding, training or conducting other commercial activities can introduce additional zoning, permitting and business requirements.

For example, the Town of Yucca Valley specifically requires review and approval of a livestock permit for commercial livestock keeping.

If your plans go beyond keeping horses for your own use, explain your intended use when checking with the appropriate planning department.

Don't Rely on "Horse Property" in a Real Estate Listing

This is probably the most important takeaway.

A listing description calling something a horse property isn't a zoning determination.

The same goes for phrases such as:

• Equestrian property
• Bring your horses
• Plenty of room for animals
• Ranch property
• Perfect for horses

Those descriptions may be completely accurate, but buyers should still independently verify whether their intended use is allowed.

And the opposite is true, too.

A listing that doesn't advertise a property for horses may still have zoning and characteristics that make it worth investigating.

Buying Vacant Land for Horses Requires Additional Research

If you're buying vacant land with the intention of eventually building a home and keeping horses, you have two different questions to answer:

Can I keep horses here?

And:

Can I build what I want here?

Those aren't necessarily the same question.

Before buying vacant High Desert land, you'll also want to investigate issues such as water, power, septic requirements, legal access, road conditions, setbacks, flood zones and building requirements.

A cheap five-acre parcel isn't much of a bargain if it can't reasonably accommodate what you bought it for.

How Do I Verify Whether Horses Are Allowed?

Start with the property's Assessor's Parcel Number (APN).

For an unincorporated property, San Bernardino County provides zoning maps and an interactive zoning lookup. The County also recommends independently verifying zoning and how its regulations apply to a specific project.

For property within Yucca Valley or Twentynine Palms, check with the appropriate municipal planning department.

When you contact the planning authority, be specific about what you intend to do.

There's a big difference between asking:

"Can I have animals?"

and:

"I want to keep three horses for my personal use and build a corral and shade structure. Is that permitted on this parcel?"

The more specific the question, the more useful the answer is likely to be.

Looking for Horse Property in the California High Desert?

The High Desert offers something increasingly difficult to find in Southern California: space.

Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, Twentynine Palms and the surrounding communities have everything from homes on larger lots to multi-acre residential properties and vacant desert land.

But when you have a specific goal for the property—whether that's keeping horses, building a home, creating an off-grid retreat or simply having some breathing room—the cheapest property or the largest parcel isn't necessarily the right one.

The right property is the one that works for what you actually want to do with it.

I specialize in High Desert real estate and land throughout the Morongo Basin. If you're looking for a home or land where keeping horses is part of the plan, I can help you narrow the search and identify the questions that should be answered before you buy.

Looking for High Desert Horse Property?

Tell me what you're looking for—location, acreage, price range, whether you want a home or vacant land, and how many horses you plan to keep.

Let’s Find Your High Desert Property

Dawn Anderson is a California real estate broker serving buyers and sellers in the High Desert. This information is provided for general educational purposes and is not legal, planning, zoning, surveying, engineering, environmental, water, wastewater, utility, investment or permitting advice. San Bernardino County zoning and development standards can change, and map suffixes, overlays, community plans, environmental regulations and parcel-specific conditions may modify general standards. Buyers should independently verify the complete zoning designation, permitted uses and proposed project with San Bernardino County and appropriately qualified professionals before purchasing or developing property.