The High View Nature Trail is in the northern foothills of the Little San Bernardino Mountains, which stand between the Morongo Basin to the north and the Coachella Valley to the south. The Little San Bernardino Mountains are part of the Transverse Ranges, a group of mountains that formed along the San Andreas Fault as the North American and Pacific tectonic plates grind past one another. The higher elevations, as well as the proximity to the San Bernardino Mountains, means that this area generally has the highest quantity of precipitation and experience the coolest temperatures of anywhere in Joshua Tree National Park.