Yellowstone National Park welcomed 4,762,988 recreation visits in 2025. The number is just shy of the 2021 record of 4,860,242 and about 20,000 visits higher than last year's total of 4,744,363, according to National Park Service data.

"Despite a 43-day partial government shutdown — the longest ever — the National Park Service worked to keep parks open and accessible whenever possible so visitors could continue to experience the nation’s natural and historic treasures," the Yellowstone Public Affairs office said in a Wednesday press release.

The park also reported visitors spent 86,891,452 hours in the park, along with 1,238,983 overnight stays. The number does not include stays in gateway communities. More than 75% of all visits in 2025 happened between May and August.

Visitation last year at the East Entrance, near Cody, was up .3% over 2024. Just under 167,500 came through the entrance last year. The West Entrance had the most visits, with 778,075. The North Entrance was the second busiest with 561,290 and the South Entrance was third with 291,693. The Northeast Entrance had the lowest attendance with 136,768.

Lake, Canyon and Mammoth villages are in Park County and contribute to the county's lodging tax. Visits to the park have more than doubled since 1980. The top three attendance years have all come since 2020, despite a global pandemic, a major flood and the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

Visitation figures and trends help guide how the National Park Service manages parks to ensure the best possible experience for visitors, according to the press release. The Visitation Statistics Dashboard on NPS.gov provides recreation visit data for every park in the U.S. for 2025 and previous years — dating back to 1979 for some parks.

There are currently 63 national parks in the U.S. Combined with National Park properties, The National Park Service manages 433 individual units covering more than 85 million acres in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.