Yellowstone has busiest September on record

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyo. (KIFI/KIDK) - Yellowstone National Park hosted 837,499 recreation visits in September 2020. This is a 21% increase from September 2019, making it the busiest September on record.

So far in 2020, the park has hosted 3,383,872 recreation visits, down 11% from the same period last year.

The park was closed due to health and safety reasons related to COVID-19 beginning March 24, 2020. Two Wyoming entrances opened on May 18 and three Montana entrances opened on June 1, 2020. All five entrances have been open since June 1.

The list below shows the year-to-date trend for recreation visits over the last several years (through September):

• 2020 – 3,383,872
• 2019 – 3,807,815
• 2018 – 3,860,695
• 2017 – 3,872,775
• 2016 – 3,970,778
• 2015 – 3,814,178

To reduce wait times at park entrances, buy a pass online ahead of time.

You can view more data on park visitation on the NPS Stats website.