Yellowstone Reports Strong October Visitor Numbers

A total of 194,804 recreational visitors came to Yellowstone in October, surpassing the previous October record of 189,072 set in 2010.

Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash said the dramatic year-to-year difference in visitation figures between October 2014 and October 2013 reflects the 16 day park closure due to last October’s federal government shutdown.

Nash said there were 3,483,608 recreational visits to Yellowstone in first ten months of 2014, an increase of 10.26% over the same period in 2013.

With two months left in the calendar year, 2014 is already the second highest visitation year on record, surpassing the 3,447,727 recreational visits recorded in 2012. The park’s peak visitation year was 2010, when there were 3,640,184 recreational visits to Yellowstone.

Nash said July is typically the peak visitation month in Yellowstone, followed in order by August, June, September, and May.