Yellowstone sets yearly visitation record in 10 months

published on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 10:53 PM MST

By Chronicle Staff

The number of visitors to Yellowstone National Park the first 10 months of this year has already surpassed the previous year-long visitation record set in 2007, park officials announced Wednesday.

The park recorded 3.267 million visitors from January through October, nearly 8 percent more than the 3.037 million recorded for the same 10-month period in 2008, and 116,340 more than the 3.15 million in all of 2007, according to a prepared statement.

Park officials attributed the record number of visitors to lower fuel prices in the summer of 2009, compared to the year before, and “the great value visits to national parks represent.”

The October numbers, however, were down nearly 15 percent this year compared to last year, “the first down month since April,” according to the statement. “Shoulder season visitation can be significantly impacted by weather conditions. After an unseasonably warm and dry September, much of October was cold, wet, and snowy.”

The West Yellowstone entrance to Yellowstone remains the busiest, up 5 percent in the first 10 months of this year, to nearly 1.33 million.

July is typically the park's peak visitation month, followed by August.

Most of Yellowstone’s roads have already closed to cars and trucks for the winter season, with the exception of the Gardiner to Cooke City road, which is open all year. The winter season in the park begins Dec. 15, with interior roads opened to snowmobile and snowcoach travel.

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