YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — Yellowstone National Park (YNP) has shared its visitation statistics for this September, hosting 852,435 recreation visits. This is a two percent increase from the 838,458 recreation visits in September 2023.
Although September 2024 showed a three percent decrease from September 2021’s 882,078 visits, so far in 2024 the Park is seeing a five percent increase in visits compared to last year. According to the press release, YNP hosted 4,349,689 recreation visits this year through September; 2023 saw 4,147,382 visits.
Comparatively, 2024 total recreation visits thus far are still down three percent from 2021, which hosted 4,472,687 visits.
The list below shows the year-to-date trend for recreation visits over the last five years plus this year, through September:
- 2024: 4,349,689
- 2023: 4,147,382
- 2022: 3,005,194
- The park was closed June 13 through June 21 due to the historic flood event. Three entrances opened on June 22.
- 2021: 4,472,687
- 2020: 3,393,642
- The park was closed March 24 through May 17 due to COVID. Two entrances opened on May 18 and the remaining three opened on June 1.
- 2019: 3,807,815
More data on Park visitation, including how YNP calculates these numbers, is available on the NPS Stats website.
Last year, a study found a record number of people participating in recreation activities is negatively changing people’s experiences on public lands. To learn more about the “stewardship gap,” click here.
YNP asks all visitors to recreate responsibly, which includes but is not limited to planning and preparing, being inclusive outdoors, respecting others, giving wildlife space, staying on designated roads, trails and boardwalks and leaving no trace.
