JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Yellowstone made the official announcement about July visitation, and it was as expected: another record for the park.
Yellowstone National Park hosted 1,080,767 recreation visits in July 2021, making it the most-visited July on record. It is a 13% increase from July 2020 (955,645 recreational visits) and a 15% increase from July 2019 (936,062 recreation visits).
This July is also the most-visited month on record in Yellowstone’s history and the first time visitation exceeded 1 million visits in a single month.
So far in 2021, the park has hosted 2,668,765 recreation visits, up 16% from 2019. This year is compared to 2019 instead of 2020 because of COVID-19.
The list below shows the year-to-date trend for recreation visits over the last several years (through July):
- 2021 – 2,668,765
- 2020 – 1,674,699* COVID closures in effect
- 2019 – 2,294,691
- 2018 – 2,322,271
- 2017 – 2,316,541
- 2016 – 2,427,988
“Increases to Yellowstone’s visitation have accelerated rapidly over the past 12 months and we continue to be on pace to set record numbers for 2021,” said park super Cam Sholly. “We are actively developing defensible short and long-term solutions, with our partners, which focus on protection of park resources, improving visitor experience, and considering impacts on park staffing, infrastructure and our gateway communities and regional economies.”
