Morongo Valley is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California, situated in the Morongo Basin of the Mojave Desert along State Route 62. It occupies a transition zone where the arid High Desert gives way to the springs and canyon wetlands of the Big Morongo Canyon, a setting that has drawn people to the area for more than a century. The Serrano and Chemehuevi peoples inhabited the basin long before European settlement, and the modern community took shape in the early twentieth century as federal homesteading programs, including the Small Tract Act of 1938, encouraged settlers to claim small desert parcels for cabins and modest development. Today roughly 4,000 people live in Morongo Valley, which remains unincorporated and under the jurisdiction of San Bernardino County. The community's defining natural feature is the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve, a roughly 30,000-acre protected area where springs feed a lush ribbon of marsh, willows, and cottonwoods in an otherwise dry landscape. The preserve is one of the region's most important bird habitats and a well-known destination for birders and hikers, with trails and an accessible boardwalk through the riparian corridor. Morongo Valley appeals to people who want quiet, low-density desert living with access to the outdoors. State Route 62 places the community within a short drive of Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree to the east and the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs area to the south, giving residents both seclusion and convenience. Students attend the Morongo Unified School District, and the broader basin offers the cultural and recreational draw of Joshua Tree National Park and the High Desert's artist communities.