May attendance suggests park is on record pace

Posted 6/27/24

Yellowstone National Park is well on its way to breaking the annual attendance record, based on preliminary data breaking down monthly attendance through May. The annual attendance record was set in …

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May attendance suggests park is on record pace

May attendance in Yellowstone National Park was the second highest since attendance data has been collected in the park. In this photo, visitors hike a trail to get a bird’s eye view of Grand Prismatic Spring. May attendance was only higher in 2022, just prior to a flood that closed the park briefly and saw two entrances closed for four months. If attendance continues at this pace, it is likely the park will cross the 5 million visits mark for the first time.

Tribune photo by Mark Davis

Posted Thursday, June 27, 2024 10:17 am

By Mark Davis

Yellowstone National Park is well on its way to breaking the annual attendance record, based on preliminary data breaking down monthly attendance through May.

The annual attendance record was set in 2021 with 4.86 million visits, according to National Park Service park reports. However, in 2021 May attendance was 48,651 less than May attendance this year, resulting in an 11% increase so far in 2024. May attendance this year is also up 15% over 2023 attendance through May.

Last year’s attendance was the second highest attendance rate (behind 2021) with more than 4.5 million visits. So far in 2024, the park has hosted 719,127 recreation visits, up about 11% from 2023 and 2021 data. The only year with more visits in May was 2022, but the park was closed June 13 through June 21 that year due to the historic flood event resulting in an off year in attendance. Three entrances opened on June 22, but the North and Northeast entrances were closed for four months, resulting in only slightly more than 3.8 million visits.
June, July and August are typically the busiest months in the park, according to data collected since 1979. In the record year (2021) there were more than 2.94 million visits recorded in those three months. The preliminary results from 2024 data suggests there may be as many as 3.5 million visits from June through August this year.

Through May, attendance through the East Entrance is slightly more than 6% of the total attendance. May’s attendance through the Park County, Wyoming gate ranks as the sixth highest monthly visits. Only the Northeast Entrance had lower visits, with 12,415 visits, or less than 1.8% of the park’s total visits.
If you plan to travel to Yellowstone this summer,  plan ahead, the park’s public affairs office suggests. The office suggests checking road conditions, having overnight reservations secured, driving and parking responsibly, prepare for weather changes and expect limited connectivity prior to arriving at the park. Patience and kindness also goes a long way in enjoying the park during the busy months.