3rd Busiest Year on Record for Yellowstone

It was the third busiest year on record for Yellowstone National Park.

Last year, the park recorded over 4.1 million visits – that’s a .04 percent decrease from 2017 and a 3.5 percent decrease from the record-breaking year in 2016.

The federal government shutdown in December meant that numbers of visitors coming in to the park had to be calculated differently. According to park officials, during the shutdown, staff used data from an automated counter that recorded vehicle traffic at the North Entrance, along with reports from oversnow concessioners.

Park officials have recently expressed concern about the high numbers of visitors to Yellowstone and Grand Teton, and the impact on the land and the wildlife. But in this era of increased visitation, officials say the National Park Service remains committed to preserving Yellowstone’s resources and the experience of people who come here. Continued high levels of visitation at Yellowstone remind visitors how important it is to plan your visit ahead of time.