Park Trail GuideTrip planning

Reviewed guide · Pacific

Joshua Tree National Park

Unit code JOTR. Figures retrieved 2026-11-06. Official alerts, fees, and closures are not copied here.

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A small campsite with a tent, picnic table, fire pit and other camping gear. The site is surrounded by rock formations.
Public-domain National Park Service photograph. Credit: NPS / Hannah Schwalbe. Asset record.
States on the system list
California
Guide region
Pacific. Editorial grouping of the state that contains the centroid, or the first listed state when the point is offshore.
Anniversary-table date
August 10, 1936

Table note: incorporated Joshua Tree National Monument 1994

Gross area acres
795,155.85

NPS fee acres: 781,988.85. Report date September 30, 2026. Gross area is not the same column as fee ownership.

Boundary centroid
33.8993, -115.9533

Containing shoreline polygon: California. Not an entrance.

Recreation-visit record
Highest monthly mean is outside June–August

Highest mean: March. Lowest mean: July. Mean annual total across complete years: 2,900,699 (10 complete years).

The monthly record

January: 251,809 mean recreation visitsFebruary: 281,969 mean recreation visitsMarch: 388,663 mean recreation visitsApril: 312,377 mean recreation visitsMay: 229,903 mean recreation visitsJune: 164,155 mean recreation visitsJuly: 137,281 mean recreation visitsAugust: 138,853 mean recreation visitsSeptember: 160,094 mean recreation visitsOctober: 219,736 mean recreation visitsNovember: 307,070 mean recreation visitsDecember: 308,789 mean recreation visitsJFMAMJJASOND
Mean of reported recreation visits by calendar month, 2016–2025. Gold is the lowest mean and rust is the highest. A missing bar was not reported. This is a historic average, not a live crowd count.
Monthly recreation-visit record
MonthMeanLowest yearHighest yearYears in the mean
January251,809193,843297,43510
February281,969236,807303,93310
March388,663226,600469,18310
April312,3770390,55510
May229,90389,831285,61110
June164,155110,505212,70010
July137,281123,786149,29910
August138,853120,911156,17210
September160,094148,905189,38310
October219,736163,674253,87710
November307,070248,731360,23810
December308,789250,405363,41110

How to use this guide

Joshua Tree National Park is listed in California. Its recreation-visit record, in this 2016–2025 window, peaks outside June through August. That is a count of entries, not a comfort index and not a medical statement about heat. The park’s safety and conditions pages are where heat, water, and road guidance live.

The boundary centroid sits in the desert the park administers. It is not a campground, a favorite pullout, or a guarantee that a particular wash is open. Fees and any reservation system the park is using have to be read on the park site the week you go.

Official pages

These links were checked when the site was built. A working link is not a live feed. If a standard address did not respond, it is omitted.

Nearest other national parks

Distances are great-circle miles between boundary centroids. They are not road distances or travel times.