Joshua Tree National Park Braces for Holiday Crowds
The park says using the Twentynine Palms entrance is a way to avoid the line at the entrance near the town of Joshua Tree.
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This is a photo taken at sunset in Joshua Tree National Park.
Joshua Tree National Park is gearing up for the huge crowds drawn to the Southern California desert during the holidays.
The National Park Service says the period from late December through Jan. 1 brings some of the busiest days, and campgrounds and parking lots will likely be full.
‘Tis the holiday season! Late December through Jan 1 will be some of the busiest days of the year for the park. Campgrounds and parking lots will likely be full. Here are a few tips for visiting during the holidays... pic.twitter.com/KpkgC00UWJ
At times, the park becomes drive-through-only because there are no more parking spaces.
Visitors are advised to avoid driving in between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. because entrance station lines are at their peak during those hours.
Eric Rubens
The "firefall" at Yosemite National Park. (Feb. 18, 2019)
Jeff Saliba
The "firefall" at Yosemite National Park. (Feb. 18, 2019)
Brady Kenniston
The "firefall" at Yosemite National Park. (Feb. 18, 2019)
Eric Rubens
The "firefall" at Yosemite National Park. (Feb. 18, 2019)
Eric Rubens
The "firefall" at Yosemite National Park. (Feb. 18, 2019)
Eric Rubens
The "firefall" at Yosemite National Park. (Feb. 18, 2019)
@fitzsimonsphotography
The "firefall" at Yosemite National Park. (Feb. 18, 2019)
Andy Heitz
The "firefall" at Yosemite National Park. (Feb. 18, 2019)
The park says using the Twentynine Palms entrance is a way to avoid the line at the entrance near the town of Joshua Tree.
Recent years have seen a big increase in annual attendance at Joshua Tree National Park, which straddles the Mojave and Colorado deserts 140 miles (225 kilometers) east of Los Angeles.
NPS
A look at vintage photos from Yosemite National Park.
National Park Service
Skiing in Yosemite National Park with a cat. This photo was taken in the 1890s.
National Park Service
Dancing on a rock overhang at Glacier Point in the 1890s.
National Park Service
A handcrafted motorhome built on the chassis of a 1905 Pierce Arrow is pictured with the Sentinel Hotel in the distance.
National Park Service
A covered bridge in pictured in 1944.
National Park Service
Yosemite National Park rangers are shown on horses in 1915.
National Park Service
The Wawona Hotel is pictured in the 1880s. You can see horse-drawn carriages in front.
National Park Service
Cars are parked in Stoneman Meadow in 1927.
National Park Service
The ski lodge building at Badger Pass Ski Area is pictured in 1936.
National Park Service
This image shows a bear trap built of logs on a horse-drawn wagon in front of the Yosemite Store in the early 1900s.
National Park Service
The front of LeConte Memorial Lodge.
National Park Service
Yosemite Chapel is pictured.
National Park Service
The east wall of El Capitan is seen in morning sunlight.
National Park Service
The Awahnee Hotel is seen with Half Dome in distance.
National Park Service
National Park Service
A view of the three-story Sentinel Hotel in the early 1920s and valley cliffs in distance.
National Park Service
The two-story Yosemite Museum building is seen in this 1938 photos with a car parked along street.
National Park Service
National Park Service
A Stanley Steamer is seen along a road in Yosemite Valley on July 26, 1900. It is considered the second automobile to drive into the valley.
Noel Celis/AP, File
In this July 24, 2018, file photo, Francisco Avendano, visiting from Madrid, Spain, photographs Half Dome as smoke from the Ferguson Fire hangs over Yosemite National Park, in California. Yosemite National Park will reopen Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018, 14 days after a wildfire choked the park with smoke at the peak of tourist season. Though the blaze didn't reach the heart of the valley, it burned in remote areas of the park about 250 miles (400 kilometers) from San Francisco, making roads inaccessible and polluting the air with smoke.
Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
Bridalveil falls in Yosemite National Park on a rainy day, in late Spring when snow melt causes the falls to surge, with trees visible in the foreground, Yosemite Valley, California, 2016.
Yosemite National Park
A view of Yosemite National Park Thursday Sept. 21, 2017.
AP
In this photo taken Tuesday, June 6, 2017, a National Park Service snow blower clears the entrance to Yosemite National Park, Calif. This year's heavy snowfall has crews working to clear Highway 120 as summer approaches, the only road through Yosemite that connects the Central Valley on the west side with the Owens Valley on the east side of the Sierra Nevada. Crews used plows, excavators, and massive snow blowers to open the eastern entrance to Yosemite. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Sean Gallup/Staff
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA - JULY 20: Visitors hike the Vernal Fall trail on July 21, 2014 in Yosemite National Park, California. Yosemite is among California's biggest tourist destinations.
NBC Bay Area
Yosemite Falls is bursting with water as the thick snowpack begins to melt.
Getty Images
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA - JULY 20: Visitors look out at Yosemite National Park from Glacier Point on July 21, 2014 in Yosemite National Park, California. Yosemite is among California's biggest tourist destinaitons. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
NBC 5 News
A view of Half Dome and the Yosemite Valley on August 28, 2013 in Yosemite National Park, California.
AP
Water pours down Yosemite Falls during heavy rain in Yosemite National Park, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017. Stranded motorists were pulled from cars stuck on flooded roads as heavy rains from a massive winter storm moved into Northern California. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)
AP
A view on the way to Glacier Point trail in the Yosemite National Park, California
Michael Karas
Photographer captures wedding couple embrace in Yosemite (September 5, 2016).
A similar alternative destination is the Mojave National Preserve, which lies to the north.
