A popular entrance to Joshua Tree National Park will close in April. What to know
Instead, visitors must enter or exit the park via the Twentynine Palms north entrance, or the Cottonwood entrance at the park's south boundary. The north entrance station is 25 miles east of the west entrance, and is the most accessible for visitors traveling on Highway 62, park staff said, adding about 17 minutes more driving time.
For the designated four days, visitors will not be permitted to enter the park via Park Boulevard through the town of Joshua Tree. Instead, Park Boulevard will be closed to vehicle traffic for 6 miles from the current west entrance to Quail Springs Picnic Area. This closure includes the Maze Loop and Creosote trailhead parking areas. Visitors also may not drive to or park at these trailheads during the closure.
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 the three entries to the ever-more-popular park. In 2023, more than half a million 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 also benefit from the upgrade of a single entrance booth to four.
The 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,' said Joshua Tree National Park Superintendent Jane Rodgers. '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.'
For April 7-10, park staff will place signs along Highway 62 and Park Boulevard and within the park alerting visitors to this temporary traffic pattern change. Exiting vehicles may turn around at Quail Springs Picnic Area and entering vehicles may turn around at the current west entrance station; however, this is not advised due to an expected traffic backup.
Visitors can access construction updates at nps.gov/jotr/learn/management/2025-west-entrance-construction.htm
Park rangers encourage visitors to observe posted speed limits and drive only on designated roads.
You can save time and prepare for your visit by:\
Purchasing an entrance pass ahead of time at recreation.gov/sitepass/74286 and being prepared to show the pass at the entrance station
Downloading the NPS App for trip planning and park alerts at nps.gov/subjects/digital/nps-apps.htm
Checking the park website for current conditions, restrictions, closures, and more at nps.gov/jotr/planyourvisit/conditions.htm
Janet Wilson is senior environment reporter for The Desert Sun and co-authors USA Today Climate Point. She can be reached at jwilson@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Joshua Tree National Park entrance will close in April: What to know
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