If you visited Joshua Tree National Park this spring, you may have noticed long lines of cars at park entrances and lots of cars and people inside the park. Managing editor Tami Roleff says, in the second part of a three-part report, the park service expects our local national park to get a whole lot more crowded…
“We’ve had one million visitors in the park so far in the last four months…. We’re projected to have 2.4 million people in the park this year. Look down the road, five to 10 years, and look at potentially four million visitors a year.”
Joshua Tree National Park Superintendent David Smith told the Yucca Valley Town Council at Tuesday’s meeting that the current number of visitors are straining the park’s campgrounds.
“Our campgrounds are full pretty much for six to seven months a year.” And while Smith said the Park Service plans to improve Black Rock Campground and will add an additional campground at Sheep Pass, the additional spaces will not be enough to meet demand. He encouraged the town, local businesses, and entrepreneurs to build more campgrounds, because if you build it, they will come.
“There’s a fascination with the California desert. I know that folks are drawn to the desert like never before.”
