Yellowstone sees 32% decrease in visitors last month
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The following is a news release from Yellowstone National Park.
MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyoming – Yellowstone National Park hosted 534,155 visits in June 2020. This is a 32% decrease from June 2019. Although the numbers were down, visitation substantially increased over the month. In the last ten days of June, traffic counts ranged from 90% – 116% of 2019 numbers.
So far in 2020, the park has hosted 667,290 visits, down 49% 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 were open for the entire month.
The list below shows the year-to-date trend for recreational visits over the last several years (through June):
- 2020 – 667,290
- 2019 – 1,358,629
- 2018 – 1,381,708
- 2017 – 1,354,137
- 2016 – 1,432,071
- 2015 – 1,298,855
There were no commercial bus visits during June 2020. In June 2019, bus passengers made up 70,461 visits.
Yellowstone encourages visitors to #RecreateResponsibly and reduce the spread of COVID-19. Stay informed about changes to park operations. Download Yellowstone’s App, and visit www.nps.gov/yell and the park’s social media channels.