YELLOWSTONE, Wyo. — August 2021 was the busiest August ever recorded in Yellowstone National Park, according to data released from the park today.
The park hosted 921,844 recreation visits in August 2021, making it the most-visited August on record.
This is a 4.5% increase from August 2020 (881,829 recreational visits) and a 12% increase from August 2019 (820,006 recreation visits). Previously, the busiest August on record was in 2017, the year of the solar eclipse (916,166 recreation visits).
These numbers are right on trend for 2021.
In July, the park recorded 1,080,767 recreation visits up 13% from July of 2020. It was the first time visitation has exceeded 1 million visits in a single month, and the most visited month on record in Yellowstone’s history. June was also a record-breaking month for the park.
So far in 2021, the park has hosted 3,590,904 recreation visits, up 40% from the same period last year and up 15% from 2019.
The list below shows the year-to-date trend for recreation visits over the last several years (through August):
2021 – 3,590,904
2020 – 2,556,528
2019 – 3,114,697
2018 – 3,136,241
2017 – 3,232,707
2016 – 3,269,024
If you plan to travel to Yellowstone this autumn, plan ahead, expect crowding and recreate responsibly to protect yourself and the park. Stay informed about changes to park operations and services by downloading the NPS Yellowstone app and visiting www.nps.gov/yell or the park’s social media channels.
More data on park visitation, including how these numbers are calculated, is available on the NPS Stats website.
