Joshua Tree National Park to remain accessible to visitors

Joshua Tree National Park will remain accessible to visitors, National Park Service officials announced this evening.

Officials said they were able to keep the park open by utilizing revenue generated by recreation fees.

The park was originally scheduled to be temporarily closed tomorrow, but now instead, recently closed areas of the park will be reopened tomorrow.

Some visitor services, including campgrounds and entrance stations, will reopen utilizing recreation fee revenue.

The list of recently closed areas that will be accessible to park visitors tomorrow includes:

All campgrounds Stirrup Tank Road Lost Horse Mine Road and Trail Key’s View Road Rattlesnake Canyon Picnic Area and Road

National Park Service officials said they will be using Federal Land and Recreation Enhancement funds to bring back park maintenance crews in order to address sanitation issues. This will allow the park to maintain some visitor services, including reopening the campgrounds. Additional staff will also be brought in to make sure park resources are protected and to mitigate some of the damage that has occurred during the lapse of appropriations.

Outdoor areas of the park will remain accessible. Most facilities will remain closed with the exception of the Joshua Tree Visitor Center at 6554 Park Boulevard, owned and operated by the Joshua Tree National Park Association.

The four National Park Service visitor centers will remain closed for the duration of the lapse in appropriations. Entrance stations will be open to provide safety and resource protection messages to arriving visitors, but entrance fees and camping fees will not be collected.

Park officials thanked local volunteers for their contributions in providing basic sanitation at campgrounds and other closed areas during the lapse in appropriations. Officials said their efforts contributed significantly to the reopening of campgrounds and restoring access to other closed areas of Joshua Tree National Park.