Sexy Joshua Tree? Thirsty Death Valley? Nature Lovers' Spicy Bid To Save CA National Parks

CALIFORNIA — If you got it, flaunt it. California has the hottest national parks in the country, and with a little on-point branding, they are turning heads .

What started as an effort to show some love for the national parks ravaged by federal funding cuts and mass firings, has turned into a spicy TikTok trend, playfully highlighting the so-called sex appeal of nature's bounty. Even the National Parks' social media accounts are getting in on the action.

And if there is any national park likely to get people hot and bothered, it would be Death Valley National Park — the hottest place on earth.

On Instagram, the National Park Service dubbed Death Valley National Park the "original thirst trap" in response to viral posts celebrating the sex appeal of Joshua Tree National Park.

The National Parks' sassy, sexy, and fun take on the great outdoors on Instagram earned more than 46,000 likes.

The post is a direct response to influencers who discovered sex even sells Yellowstone, Yosemite and other natural wonders known for birds and bees but not the birds and the bees.

Unofficial TikTok creators — many former park employees and nature lovers — launched the grassroots social media campaign to support the parks. Fan accounts dedicated to Joshua Tree National Park, Mount Hood, Mount Rainier, and numerous others are actively outdoing each other, generating millions of likes and attention for the real national parks through videos and imagery. There is a method behind that madness.

In Riverside County, TikToker Kim Tanner joined the movement with her fan account for Joshua Tree National Park: @joshuatreenp.

She's using the account to showcase the stark beauty of the desert, to create awareness of problems at the park and highlight the more scenic aspects of the rocky, starry night skies. She's also conveying her concerns about activities occurring within the park's borders. She has gathered over 257,000 followers and amassed 1.1 million likes on her posts.

At first, her posts weren't getting the traction she had hoped for, so she interspersed shots of nature with some beefcakes and a Marvin Gaye soundtrack.

"I'm not super thrilled about sexualizing Joshua Tree," Tanner told The New York Times in a recent interview. "But it's working, and because it's working, I'm going to keep doing it."

The fake national parks TikTok accounts are having a bit of fun playing with one another, trolling one another and stitching clips to each other's posts. Who has the bigger cliff height? Who has the sexiest rivers and waterfalls?

The Visit Yosemite TikTok account owner recently thanked TikTok fans for the attention they received on both their accounts and the parks, which inspired the content they created.

"Thank you to all the TikTok celebrities who have used their platforms to raise awareness about what is happening in our parks. We also extend our gratitude to those working behind the scenes who do not seek attention, we couldn’t have gotten here without you. Lastly, thank you to everyone in MountainTok who has helped bring awareness and support to our parks and public lands."

For years, the National Park Service has shared social media pictures of stunning cliffs, the dramatic depths of lakes, rivers, and oceans, as well as the animals that inhabit them. They use Facebook, Instagram, and X to share informational content, at times interspersed with a flurry of highly groanable "dad jokes," like "What do you call a falcon born between the 1980s and mid-1990s? A Millennial Falcon."

But dad jokes are a far cry from the risqué lyrics and adult humor that characterize the love-for-national-parks trend. The idea, according to a recent CNET article, is that nature is sexy, but budget cuts at the national parks are not. On Valentine's Day the Trump administration abruptly fired more than 1,000 National Park workers and put thousands more seasonal jobs in jeopardy.

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In 2026, the Trump administration's budget cuts will reduce the National Parks Service funding by $1 billion, according to CNET. Another $44 billion is on the chopping block for national recreation management programs and conservation efforts.

Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association, told CNET that the NPS has already lost nearly 2,500 employees, or nearly 13% of its staff, in what she calls a "brain trust exodus" of environmental experts. She said: "What's happening right now, in trying to dismantle the National Park Service from the inside out, is more horrific than anything we've seen before."

That's why, a "Save the National Parks" message has emerged. Each post asks readers to share their thoughts on what should be done to save the parks. Attention from media outlets like CNET and The New York Times has given these creators the courage to expand their playful feud inside a sandbox where the National Park Service is not allowed to play.

Due to government restrictions, the official National Parks social media team is not allowed to participate in the TikTok space.

Social media, as a whole, has boosted visitation to the parks, according to a 2024 study. Parks with high social media exposure can increase foot traffic. Time will tell if the unofficial TikTok campaigns will surge that traffic in 2025. By far, TikTok offers the broadest range of social engagement with their hyper-sexy campaigns, drawing a collective of millions of likes and follows, as compared to the National Park Service's official social media accounts.

The goal is to share what's beautiful and what's at stake, as seen in Tanner's Joshua Tree watchdog posts, proclaiming:

"Calling ALL Joshua Tree National Park fans, fans of the Mojave Desert and anyone else...It's go time and your time to shine! An Australian mining company, Dateline Resources, is mining in the Mojave National Preserve under an expired permit provided by an agency that has no jurisdiction over the land. This needs to be STOPPED before it's too late! Go to the LinkTree in my bio and click the first link to send a letter to Congress telling them that you oppose this and you want this mining company out of the Mojave National Preserve."

Whether or not the NPS social accounts will stick to the sex sells theme remains to be seen. Sheila Nguyen, an associate director of communications and engagement for the National Parks Conservation Association, answered an email regarding this digital form of action.

"We've seen digital action lead to tangible action," she wrote. "The more people who see the social media content, the bigger pool of people who may speak up, and the more collective impact we can have."