We all love nature, the trees, the mountains, the deserts that make up our national parks… But some people love them a lot more than others. They’re the same folks who accidentally kicked off a social media trend that’s now grabbing everyone’s attention. The trend touches parks across the country, but the duo stealing the spotlight is definitely Joshua Tree and Death Valley, Probably the hottest of them all, right?
Here’s the deal: according to The New York Times, it all started last year as a TikTok joke (probably the kind of brain rot content we all scroll past daily). But in February, when major budget cuts to the National Park Service were announced, these parody fan accounts took things seriously, and decided to respond in the most creative (and effective) way possible…
As we all know, s*x sells, and that’s exactly the angle these accounts are leaning into to promote national parks, by adding some (literal) sensual appeal.
In one of the clips, you can hear George Michael’s iconic Careless Whisper playing in the background, setting the tone to rank some of the country’s “spiciest” national parks, with descriptions that leave very little to the imagination.
Another clip shows a short stroll through Joshua Tree’s iconic cacti, set to the audio “Where are my single nerds at,” packed with emojis and dad jokes full of spicy innuendos.
The number of comments, shares, reactions, likes (and most of all, views) on these videos makes one thing clear: this unofficial fan-led campaign is working. So much so that one real, verified national park account has officially jumped on the trend: Death Valley. In one of its posts from this past May, epic shots of the arid landscape are paired with the caption: “The original thirst trap…”
Although, as we’ve mentioned, this campaign isn’t official and isn’t run by any government agency or verified account, it’s helping raise awareness about the importance of California’s national parks (and parks across the country) while encouraging people to get out and explore them.
So now you know: on your next nature hike, make sure to drop a spicy TikTok about sequoias and shrubs to do your part.