Smartphone mobility data reveals how home-location heat and park cooling shape park visitation in Los Angeles

Parks can support climate adaptation by providing cooling, but their use is shaped by residents’ cooling needs, parks’ cooling potential and the ability to reach them. Little is known about how residential heat exposure and relative park cooling, measured by the home-park temperature difference, jointly relate to park visitation from an origin-destination perspective. Using mobile phone data and explainable Random Forest models, we examine these associations across park types and demographic groups in Los Angeles County. Results show that local-park visitation was generally negatively associated with home-location temperature, whereas visitation to regional parks and natural areas increased above approximately 35 °C. However, greater visitation did not necessarily correspond to trips to cooler parks relative to home locations. For local parks, greater relative cooling was associated with higher visitation, and this association strengthened as home-location temperature increased. Under extreme heat, the positive cooling-visitation association was strongest in predominantly Hispanic, Asian, and low-income communities. In contrast, visitation to regional parks and natural areas generally peaked when park and home temperatures were similar, with greater cooling not associated with higher visitation. Spatial accessibility may partly explain these differences. Home-park distance was the leading predictor across all park types. Greater cooling at regional parks and natural areas was often associated with longer travel distances and lower transit availability, potentially limiting access to these cooling opportunities. These findings highlight the need to improve cooling capacity in local parks serving socially vulnerable populations while reducing access barriers to larger green spaces during extreme heat.