Superintendent Newsletter March 2025

Heads up! Construction Underway at West Entrance - Four Day Closure

April 7th - 10th 2025

4/7/2025 - 4/10/2025: The west entrance of Joshua Tree National Park will be closed to inbound and outbound traffic beginning 6 a.m. Monday April 7 through 6 p.m. Thursday April 10. Visitors must enter or exit the park via Twentynine Palms or Cottonwood using the north entrance station in Twentynine Palms or the Cottonwood entrance at the park’s south boundary. Park Boulevard will be closed to vehicle traffic for six miles from the west entrance to Quail Springs Picnic Area. This closure includes the Maze Loop and Creosote trailhead parking areas. Visitors may not drive to or park at these trailheads during the closure. Northbound vehicles may turn around at Quail Springs Picnic Area and southbound vehicles may turn around at the current west entrance station; however, this is not advised due to an expected backup of traffic.

This closure is necessary for crews to prepare the area for paving as the new entrance station is constructed. Crews will be cutting into the road to run utilities to the new entrance station location and to adjust the grade of the road. All other park roads are expected to remain open.

The current west entrance is the busiest of three entrances to the park. In 2023, 515,000 vehicles passed through it. The new entrance will be built approximately one-third mile south of the current one and further inside the park. The station will be significantly expanded to include two inbound lanes, one outbound lane, and one bypass lane in each direction. Visitors will benefit from the upgrade of a single entrance booth to four. This project is funded by fee revenue through the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act.

“We appreciate the patience of our visitors and community as we continue work on the new entrance station. This temporary inconvenience will allow us to more quickly serve visitors in the future at the improved entrance station. The park recognizes this is a very busy time to close a section of road, but we must comply with the obligations set forth in our construction contract. The original closure was expected to last two weeks, and I’m glad it’s been reduced to just four days.” - Superintendent Jane Rodgers

Important Links

Visitors can access construction updates. Park rangers encourage visitors to recreate responsibly in their vehicles by observing posted speed limits and driving only on designated roads. Visitors can prepare for their visit by:

• Purchasing an entrance pass ahead of time at and being prepared to show their pass at the entrance station.
• Downloading the NPS App for trip planning and park alerts.
• Checking the park website for current conditions, restrictions, closures.

From the Office of the Superintendent

Superintendent Jane Rodgers writes:
As spring weather brings sunnier days, we are reminded of how fortunate we are to live in the high desert! While I am ever grateful for the change in weather, I’m even more grateful for our local communities and amazing park partners. This spring the park expects to host over a million visitors from all over the world, and we couldn’t do this without all the help from our neighbors and friends. This newsletter, I’d like to highlight our friends at “JTNPA.” Since 1962, the Joshua Tree National Park Association has worked in partnership with Joshua Tree National Park to help in its achievement of programming goals in education and interpretation, along with scientific and historical research and activities. One amazing contribution has been “JT Science”—a relatively new publication that showcases research projects in the park. Check out several editions of JT Science… and stay tuned for the 4th installation coming soon!

Where have all the Flowers Gone?

Every spring, park rangers are asked “Where are the flowers?” and “Will there be a super-bloom?” Unfortunately, this past winter brought limited rain to our desert region, with precipitation more typical of what we should expect in our Mojave and Colorado Deserts. Super-blooms are called “super” for a very good reason! There must be super abundant precipitation, above average, that results in those photogenic carpets of wildflowers some of us were lucky enough to enjoy back in 2019. While not every year can be super, you can bet that you can always find flowers somewhere every spring. They may not be obvious or massive, but in the nooks and crannies of rock formations or shady sections of a dry wash, you’re bound to find flowers blossoming in these smaller microclimates. Put on your detective hat and go find a few flowers to appreciate! Learn more here.

By the Numbers

For helpful information on how busy the park can get, take a look at this data page offered by the National Park Service to the public.

We’re looking forward to another great year welcoming visitors who come from near and far to experience all the park has to offer. See more information about visitation data here.
Please share trip planning information where you can; it helps keep our visitors safe and take care of the beautiful spaces they come here to experience.

Joshua Tree - Talk

Campgrounds Supervisor Ranger Duane

Duane Vigar has had a busy day along with his small crew with big hearts. They've spent all morning cleaning, maintaining, and stocking 92 vault toilets, and watching over 500 campsites across 9 campground areas. They do it all, from picking up trash, tidying up campsites after campers have enjoyed the outdoors, to restocking toilet paper, hosing down vault toilets, calling out problems to law enforcement on the radios, and answering park visitor questions. They have some of the toughest and most rewarding key positions in the park. Duane's unsung heroes bring smiles to campers from around the world as they experience a clean getaway among the stars.

Mass Casualty Incident Training

Anna Marini, Preventative Search and Rescue Supervisor

A Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) training event took place at Joshua Tree National Park on February 10,12, and 15 2025. This event aimed to improve the preparedness and response capabilities of emergency personnel and park staff in managing large-scale emergencies. The training involved a simulated MCI scenario that required coordinated efforts from various teams to manage and mitigate the situation effectively.

The event saw significant participation from a diverse group, including National Park Service (NPS) staff, local emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, firefighters, rescue teams, volunteers, and community members. The scenario simulated a large-scale accident within the park, resulting in multiple casualties that required rapid assessment, triage, treatment, and transport.

Anna Marini was selected for the 2024 NPS Director’s Visitor Safety Achievement Award for her outstanding dedication, commitment, and achievements to reducing risk to visitors and preventing serious and fatal visitor injuries. You can read about her achievement here.