Crowds by month
Compare the full year’s monthly recreation visits and normal weather.
Joshua Tree visitation by year
47 years of annual recreation visits, 1979–2025. The chart shows the long-run shape; the table keeps every total and its change from the previous year.
| Year | Recreation visits | Year-over-year |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 590,543 | |
| 1980 | 545,357 | -7.7% |
| 1981 | 612,966 | +12.4% |
| 1982 | 673,201 | +9.8% |
| 1983 | 671,426 | -0.3% |
| 1984 | 663,798 | -1.1% |
| 1985 | 641,172 | -3.4% |
| 1986 | 783,224 | +22.2% |
| 1987 | 830,085 | +6.0% |
| 1988 | 955,246 | +15.1% |
| 1989 | 990,214 | +3.7% |
| 1990 | 1,022,396 | +3.3% |
| 1991 | 1,145,458 | +12.0% |
| 1992 | 1,220,539 | +6.6% |
| 1993 | 1,252,401 | +2.6% |
| 1994 | 1,184,871 | -5.4% |
| 1995 | 1,235,702 | +4.3% |
| 1996 | 1,095,046 | -11.4% |
| 1997 | 1,226,273 | +12.0% |
| 1998 | 1,410,312 | +15.0% |
| 1999 | 1,316,340 | -6.7% |
| 2000 | 1,233,935 | -6.3% |
| 2001 | 1,280,917 | +3.8% |
| 2002 | 1,178,376 | -8.0% |
| 2003 | 1,283,346 | +8.9% |
| 2004 | 1,243,659 | -3.1% |
| 2005 | 1,375,111 | +10.6% |
| 2006 | 1,256,421 | -8.6% |
| 2007 | 1,298,979 | +3.4% |
| 2008 | 1,392,446 | +7.2% |
| 2009 | 1,304,471 | -6.3% |
| 2010 | 1,434,976 | +10.0% |
| 2011 | 1,396,237 | -2.7% |
| 2012 | 1,396,117 | -0.0% |
| 2013 | 1,383,340 | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 1,589,904 | +14.9% |
| 2015 | 2,025,756 | +27.4% |
| 2016 | 2,505,286 | +23.7% |
| 2017 | 2,853,619 | +13.9% |
| 2018 | 2,942,382 | +3.1% |
| 2019 | 2,988,547 | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 2,399,542 | -19.7% |
| 2020 Pandemic-year drop | ||
| 2021 | 3,064,400 | +27.7% |
| 2021 Post-pandemic recovery | ||
| 2022 | 3,058,294 | -0.2% |
| 2023Highest | 3,270,404 | +6.9% |
| 2024 | 2,991,874 | -8.5% |
| 2025Latest | 2,932,644 | -2.0% |
What the visitation trend shows
Read the latest total alongside the record and earlier years.
2025 in the annual record. It ranks 7 of 47 annual totals, 10.3% below the 2023 maximum of 3,270,404. The latest total is down 2.0% from 2024.
The longer comparison. 2025 is 44.8% above 2015's 2,025,756 visits. This compares two endpoints, not uninterrupted growth or decline. Joshua Tree National Park (JOTR).
Read individual years. The source records 2,025,756 in 2015 and 3,270,404 in 2023. The table retains each intervening year. Annual counts do not establish the cause of a change or predict crowding on a particular date.
Questions about Joshua Tree visitation
How many visits did Joshua Tree record in 2025?
2,932,644 recreation visits, compared with 2,991,874 in 2024. These are visits, not unique people.
What was Joshua Tree's highest recorded visitation year?
The maximum in this 1979–2025 dataset is 3,270,404 in 2023. This is a record within the displayed years, not a claim about earlier history.
Is Joshua Tree visitation increasing?
The reported 2025 total is down 2.0% from 2024. 2025 is 44.8% above 2015's 2,025,756 visits. This compares two endpoints, not uninterrupted growth or decline. Annual totals alone do not explain what caused a change.
What was Joshua Tree's lowest recorded visitation year?
1980 has the lowest count in the 1979–2025 series: 545,357 recreation visits. The annual table preserves the original totals; it does not establish why a low occurred.
How we built this page.
An independent guide using official data. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service.
- Official annual data
- NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package, 2025. Each total sums twelve monthly TRV recreation-visit values for reporting unit JOTR. The table covers 1979–2025.
- What is counted
- Visits, not unique visitors. Repeat visits are not combined into distinct people. The totals do not measure visitor spending, individual trails or parking availability.
- Reading changes
- Recorded changes do not establish causes. Year-over-year percentages compare a total with the previous year. Historical reporting practices and boundaries may differ. The series maximum makes no claim about years before 1979.
- Comparing years
- Joshua Tree National Park (JOTR). Annual totals use one reporting unit and the same NPS data package throughout. Historical counting practices and park boundaries may differ; a change in recorded visits does not by itself establish what caused it.