We’re entering the end run of the 2020 Yellowstone summer season. Services will gradually close throughout the month of October, and visitation will tail off. But we won’t see anything tail off this weekend, as a glorious weather forecast will undoubtedly bring a healthy number of visitors to Yellowstone for one last run. 

In what’s been a most unusual season, 2020 Yellowstone visitation is as robust as ever, even though Yellowstone National Park is operating at less than full capacity, with plenty of services and lodgings shut down. So why are the crowds so robust? Blame the COVID.

Taking another break from a long slumber: we saw a Giantess Geyser eruption for the first time since January 2014, a spectacular site broadcast worldwide via Yellowstone webcam.

There were 43,019 reported cases of COVID-19 in the United States today, but none of them came from Yellowstone National Park, as NPS officials reported that all pending Yellowstone COVID-19 testing came back negative.

Despite a surprising number of visitors to the park in July, another round of testing yielded no new Yellowstone COVID-19 cases as of mid-July.

With the summer season upon us and anecdotal evidence of crowds returning, it’s important to note that the Yellowstone fire danger is now currently rated as very high by the National Park Service.

We have the first Yellowstone COVID-19 positive tests in the books, as two concessions employees and three separate visitors reported symptoms and subsequently tested positive.

If you plan on a July-October visit, you’ll have more options when it comes to 2020 Yellowstone lodging, as concessionaire Xanterra plans on opening Lake, Canyon and Old Faithful Snow Lodge rooms for the rest of the season.

Another round of testing, another round of good news: After 190 tests of NPS and concessionaire employees, there were no positive COVID-19 Yellowstone tests recorded, keeping the park’s winning streak alive.

With the news that the three Montana gates into Yellowstone are opening June 1, Xanterra has announced a revised Yellowstone operating schedule, moving up openings from a previously announced June 15 schedule.