Pioneer is located 5 miles (8.0 km) east-northeast of Pine Grove, at an elevation of 2986 feet (910 m), along State Route 88.
Pioneer Station, built approximately 1925, is located in Pioneer however, it was never a Pony Express stop, a popular fallacy. It was a general store selling gas and water and offering camping sites. The old Pioneer Station still stands and is currently a private residence.
Where generations of Indian bands traversed, non-Indians first crossed the high Sierra in 1844 when Fremont’s Expedition, in deep snow, surmounted the range, thanks to several mountain-man immortals - Kit Carson, Alex Godey, and Thomas Fitzpatrick.