Yellowstone Insider Your Complete Guide to America's First National Park
Visitation went down in Yellowstone National Park during October 2016 compared to last year.
According to a Yellowstone press release, while visitor numbers are still up from 2015—and have already surpassed 2015’s record 4.1 million visitor rate—approximately ten thousand fewer visitors filed into the Park, a decrease of nearly four percent. You can see the full table below.
| Month | Recreational Visits 2016 | Recreational Visits 2015 |
Change |
| January | 30,621 | 28,091 | +9% |
| February | 36,327 | 34,343 | +5.7% |
| March | 22,924 | 22,989 | -1% |
| April | 59,253 | 46,600 | +27% |
| May | 444,817 | 383,064 | +15.2% |
| June | 838,316 | 780,768 | +7.37% |
| July | 995,413 | 980,702 | +1.5% |
| August | 841,036 | 854,409 | -1.5% |
| September | 701,754 | 680,213 | +3.17% |
| October | 242,004 | 252,013 | -3.97% |
| Total Year-To-Date |
3,269,024 | 3,133,966 | +3.6% |
Three entrances (North, South, and East) showed a decrease in visitor traffic compared to October 2015. In all likelihood, the decrease reflected a spat of closures (including the Dunraven and Beartooth Passes) around the Park between October 3 and October 20.
Bus travel was up in the Park, with 942 buses entering Yellowstone National Park this October—a 14 percent increase from this time last year, when 826 buses entered Yellowstone.
