California national parks post big visitor increases as Donald Trump’s staff cuts loom

Visitors flocked to California’s nine national parks last year in numbers not seen since the pandemic, new federal data show.

About 12,160,000 people visited national parks in California in 2024, up by 772,000, or 7%, from the previous year. Last year marked the highest visitation to the state’s national parks since 2019, and the third-highest number on record.

The new data comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has fired around 1,000 national parks workers across the country, part of an effort that he contends will reduce government waste. The layoffs include cuts at Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Death Valley and Sequoia and Kings National Parks, the state’s most popular.

Amid outcry and worries about visitor services, the Trump administration has hired some workers back and promised to hire thousands of seasonal workers, according to the Associated Press.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that the National Parks Service sent a memo telling public relations staff not to draw attention to the increased attendance.

The largest increase in visitors last year came at Death Valley National Park, which logged 1.31 million visitors, the highest number in its history. Yosemite, Sequoia, and Redwood National Parks each saw an additional 200,000 to 350,000 new visitors. Visitation increased modestly at Kings Canyon and Pinnacles National Parks and declined at Joshua Tree, Lassen and Channel Islands National Parks.

This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 9:51 AM with the headline "California national parks post big visitor increases as Donald Trump’s staff cuts loom."