With the on-going pandemic, many people are avoiding long-distance travel. So you’d think that the number of visitors to Joshua Tree National Park would go down. Hilary Sloane says that’s not the case…
Joshua Tree National Park’s off season is during the summer months, but last summer, visitation was up 11% from June to October, and the number of visitors was up 20% last November. A park spokeswoman implied that Californians staying closer to home during the pandemic may be why the number of visitors to Joshua Tree National Park increased last year.
March and April are traditionally the busiest times of the year at Joshua Tree National Park. Based on increased visitation last year during what was typically the slow season, the park expects even more visitors this spring.
The park did not consider data from spring or winter 2020 to exclude months when the park was closed or under a stay at home order. Americans avoiding long distant travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, may explain why the park is experiencing higher than expected visitation. Visitation data was compared to 2018.
