Yellowstone Park marks busiest August on record

Yellowstone National Park hosted 916,166 visits in August, making it the busiest August on record. The number is 8.93 percent higher than August of 2016.

Park officials said the huge crowds in the region for the solar eclipse on August 21 probably contributed to the high numbers, given unusually high numbers on August 22.

Congestion on that day was so high that the park had to briefly limit access to the Old Faithful and West Thumb Geyser Basin parking areas. Rangers were also dispatched to manage traffic at Madison Junction.

So far this year, the park has hosted 3,232,708 visits, which is down 1.11 percent from the same period in 2016. Last year’s visitation was the highest on record.

Because of the high numbers, visitors are being encouraged to carefully plan their visits and anticipate delays at popular attractions.