YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — This year was the busiest May on record in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) according to a Tuesday announcement, with 570,272 recreation visits. That number is up 1% from May 2025, during which the park clocked 566,363 recreation visits.

“Visitation in May 2026 was the busiest on record for the month of May and showed a 20% increase from May 2021 (473,799 recreation visits), which was Yellowstone’s record-breaking year with over 4.8 million recreation visits,” the YNP announcement states.

The National Park Service (NPS) statistics site has data regarding Yellowstone visitation as far back as 1904.

Visitation in June 2025 to YNP was also up with 928,250 recreation visits; an increase from 914,612 in June 2024.

With visitation up and the summer season ahead, YNP has urged visitors to plan ahead. While reservations are not required to enter Yellowstone — only a park entrance pass is required — the park reminded guests in a statement released in May that “summer is busy, so pack your patience and be prepared for crowds at popular areas and lines at entrance stations, construction areas, and roadside wildlife sightings.”



Hannah is a Buckrail Staff Reporter and freelance web developer and designer who has called Jackson home since 2015. When she’s not outside, you can probably find her eating a good meal, playing cribbage, or at one of the local yoga studios. She’s interested in what makes this community tick, both from the individual and collective perspective.