2007 – Visitor record set

[Tuesday, January 3, 2008]   It seemed like a busy year around Yellowstone National Park, and it was. A record number of visitors were recorded in the park – 3,151,342, up 9.8% from last year and exceeding the previous record of 3,144,405 set in 1992. Despite high gas prices and the first signs of recession, visitation made a dramatic increase. Any time the count jumps by nearly 10%, it’s a big change, one that affects all the services in the region.

As usual, the vast majority of visitors came during the summer (May-September), this year 2,871,358 (91%). The average daily count was 15,690 through the period. The peak month, July, saw an average of 26,542 visitors a day. Although there were forest fire problems and road construction near the East Entrance, this point of entry saw the biggest increase with April through November numbers jumping 21.4%.