It should have been no surprise to us that Joshua Tree National Park on President’s Day weekend would be crowded. But the number of cars & people was insane – I know national parks are more popular than ever but today was nuts. Even the north entrance had a queue of 20 cars. We have a lifetime pass and fortunately they opened a 2nd lane & waved us through. We got into the Split Rock Loop Trail parking area around noon. It was full but we were able to park on the side of the road that fed into the parking area. It was busy but with everyone dispersed, we had a nice hike. The weather was great, not hot, so hiking conditions were perfect.

Since we were staying in 29Palms, close to the north entrance, we should have got an earlier start. By 2pm all the landmark destinations were packed, with cars overflowing along the road. We tried to stop at Keys View at 3pm and ended up just turning around. We decided to get an earlier start tomorrow, hoping Monday, even though it was still a holiday, would be less crowded.