A stellar August turnout means Yellowstone visitation has exceeded three million already this 2015 season.
A total of 854,409 visitors came to Yellowstone National Park in August, a substantially large number. Further, the August 2015 numbers show an almost 10.5% increase over August 2014. This high count of Yellowstone visitation follows the record setting numbers Yellowstone saw in July 2015. The full numbers are below:
Month | Recreational Visits 2015 | Recreational Visits 2014 |
Change |
January | 28,091 | 26,778 | +4.9% |
February | 34,343 | 28,233 | +21.64% |
March | 22,989 | 18,778 | +22.43% |
April | 46,600 | 31,356 | +48.61% |
May | 383,670 | 310,039 | +23.75% |
June | 780,768 | 669,642 | +16.59% |
July | 980,702 | 858,856 | +14.19% |
August | 854,409 | 773,357 | +10.48% |
Total Year-To-Date |
3,133,965 | 2,717,040 | +15.34% |
“We have been surprised by the size of the increase this year,” says Dan Wenk, Superintendent of Yellowstone National Park in a press release. “We will be looking at what this means for the future and what we can do to improve visitor experiences while still protecting park resources.”
Overall, visitation was up at all five Park entrances, with multiple possible factors bounced around regarding the uptick, among them lower gas prices, promotion via both Montana and Wyoming, as well as the Every Kid in a Park initiative.