Yellowstone Park 2024 Tourism Numbers Near All-Time Record
While 2021 remains the benchmark, 2024 is not far behind.
Of course, 2021 was the year that many travelers made up for pandemic closures the previous year that derailed a lot of vacationers' plans. Yellowstone National Park was not excluded from that frenzy by any means.
But the park shows no signs of slowing down, as numbers continue on the uptick as we head down the homestretch of the peak tourist season. The National Park Service just released their 2024 numbers through July 31.
Yellowstone hosted 992,352 recreation visits in July, 2024. That is up 2% from July, 2023 (969,692 recreation visits) but still 8% below July, 2021 (1,080,767 recreation visits).
So far in 2024, the park has hosted 2,626,091 recreation visits, up 7% from 2023 (2,462,535 recreation visits), and down 2% from 2021 (2,668,765 recreation visits).
Yellowstone National Park
The list below shows the year-to-date trend for recreation visits over the last several years through each year's July:
2024 – 2,626,091
2023 – 2,462,535
2022 – 1,855,396 - The park was closed June 13 through June 21 (remember the historic flooding?). Three of the entrances reopened on June 22.
2021 – 2,668,765
2020 – 1,674,699 - 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 – 2,294,691
Whether it's peak season or if you prefer a bit softer time of year, you are always encouraged to take the Yellowstone Pledge. Like every year, 2024 has seen a number of careless decisions made by tourists. Protect yourself and the park!
There's more interesting data on how the National Park Service calculates park visitation numbers here. There's still plenty of peak season left in 2024 and a yearly record is not out of reach.
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