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Well, 2024 is over, and with it comes a look back at Yellowstone National Park visitation for the year.
The major news is that the park experienced its second-biggest visitation year in history, with 4,744,352 visitors. This is a 5.4% increase in visitation from 2023. For those curious, 2021 was the busiest year in park history, with 4,860,242 visitors.
Note: Current calendar year data are preliminary and subject to change. Data will be finalized by the end of the first quarter of the 2025 calendar year.
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Quick Rant
While some will use the beaten and overused narrative that we are “loving our parks to death,” I tend to question such narratives, as they are never proven with actual science or statistics. They are a fun, click-bait narrative highlighting bad behavior and long lines in parks, but what is the truth?
For fun, I took a look at Yellowstone Park visitation each year and compared it to the US population in each corresponding year. In the last 14 years, there has been an increase of just two-thousandths of a percentage point. In the past, I have looked at all NPS park visitation and compared it to the US population, and guess what: there is basically a 1 to 1 correlation between the population increase and the increase in park visitation. If my math is correct, that means that the popularity of the parks actually isn’t growing, the growth is instead tied directly to our country getting more people. I will revisit these numbers when the entire NPS releases their visitation numbers and get back to you all.
Now, I mentioned poor behavior a second ago. If you go online, you’ll see numerous instances of poor behavior at Yellowstone National Park. I do not deny that these things are happening. Bad behavior exists, has always existed, and will always exist in Yellowstone. My main source of ire from the bad behavior talk is that it is not as bad as social media shows. The reason many feel like there is an increase in rule-breaking behavior is mainly due to one big reason: more incidents are filmed and reported. It isn’t like there was a golden age of well-behaved park visitors, either. People fed bears into the late 1960s and early 1970s from their cars. People walked through thermal areas from day one. People also used to hunt animals in the park despite it being illegal.
Yes, there are badly behaved people still. However, we had 4,744,352 visitors to the park. Let us pretend that 1% of all visitors got off the boardwalks, petted animals, and generally were breaking rules left and right. That would mean that 47,443 people were doing this. That is not even close to the number; it is far too high. Even one-half of one percent is still 23,721 people petting animals, jumping off the boardwalks, and breaking other park rules and regulations.
Again, that is too high of an estimate. One-tenth of one percent is 474 visitors, which is more than one person a day going off the boardwalks or approaching wildlife in a truly unsafe way. I’d be happy to double or triple that number, but the law enforcement numbers probably don’t support even that high of a percentage. Throw in speeding and driving under the influence, though, and I think a few thousand people a year sounds correct. But social media and websites don’t talk about speeding or driving under the influence when they talk about bad park behavior. This is why I lose respect for people who use the word “touron” and constantly talk about the viral videos they see. It just isn’t the reality. I know. I am in the park all the time.
Ok, sorry about that. Rant over. Let’s get back to the visitation statistics.
Monthly Visitation in 2024
January: 42,740
February: 49,291
March: 32,862
April: 71,784
May: 522,450
June: 914,612
July: 992,353
August: 868,259
September: 852,435
October: 346,025
November: 21,133
December: 30,410
In the 366 days of 2024, the park had an average of 12,963 people a day. I rounded up.
How Many Cars Were in Yellowstone in 2024
Recreation Vehicles: 1,779,012
Buses: 5,397
Snowmobiles: 3,260
What Were the Most Popular Entrances to the Park in 2024
East Gate: 166,942 cars and the busiest month was July with 37,711. Overall, traffic during the summer at this entrance was below the 10-year average.
North Gate: 533,276 cars and the busiest month was July with 89,826. Overall, traffic during the summer at this entrance was above the 10-year average.
Northeast Gate: 133,228 cars and the busiest month was July, with 29,437. Overall, traffic during the summer at this entrance was Overall, traffic during the summer at this entrance was above the 10-year average.
South Gate: 290,623 cars and the busiest month was July, with 65,893. Overall, traffic during the summer at this entrance was just below the 10-year average.
West Gate: 777,409 cars and the busiest month was July, with 168,579. Overall, traffic during the summer at this entrance was above the 10-year average.
Highway 191 also saw 1,095,111 vehicles, but this doesn’t really count as there is not an entrance station. This is also the road connecting Bozeman and Big Sky to West Yellowstone. Overall, traffic during the summer along this stretch of road was above the 10-year average.
As always, West Yellowstone was the busiest entrance for the year. In June, West had 151,177 cars, July saw 164,541 cars, August had 136,492 cars, and September had 132,527 cars. To put that in perspective, the second busiest gate in those same months was the North Gate in Gardiner, which saw half the number of cars per month.
Where Does Everyone Stay
Total overnight stays in Yellowstone for 2024: 1,262,912
Concessioner Lodging: 684,474 stays, with June being the busiest month.
Concessioner Campgrounds: 425,948 with August being the busiest month.
NPS Campgrounds: 110,267 with July being the busiest month.
NPS Backcountry: 37,280 with August being the busiest month.
NPS Miscellaneous: 4,943, and this is mainly YCC and construction crews.
Backcountry camping was down 2.6% from 2023. 2024 was the lowest backcountry camping year since 2006. Technically, 2022 was lower, but the park was closed for a few weeks, and access to the northern range, where a large amount of backcountry camping occurs, was severely limited in access. The decrease in backcountry camping speaks to the movement of most park visitors over the last two decades. Fewer people are going beyond the paved roads and established camping areas, making the wilderness of Yellowstone more wild than ever.
What Months Are Getting More Busy
I have written about the myth of visiting an empty park in September and am frequently told that my assessment is not true. While the end of September is less busy than the first part of the month, the month is still busy, seeing nearly the same amount of visitors as in August. In 2014, September saw 571,764 visitors, 200,000 less than August of the same year. A decade later, in 2024, September had 852,435 visitors, a decrease of just under 16,000 from August of 2024. October has also seen a big increase in visitation over the last decade. Visitation numbers in 2014 were 194,804 and rose to 346,025 in 2024.
The increase in visitation is occurring in every month of the year compared to the last decade, but there are a few more big jumps. April has more than doubled in the last 10 years, seeing 71,784 visitors compared to 31,356 in 2014. May has also gotten busier, gaining almost 200,000 people for the month in the last decade. November has also nearly doubled over the last decade, but it remains the least visited month, seeing just 21,133 visitors in 2024. Even March has risen from a little under 19,000 in 2014 to over 32,000 in 2024.
What Does This Mean For Visitation in 2025
I anticipate that, barring any major incidents, 2025 will be very similar to 2024. I see a good potential for the busiest May in history. July may crack the million visitor mark for the second time in history, as 2024 was just 7,648 visitors short of that. September visitation will continue to grow, as will nearly every other month. I also anticipate the North Entrance at Gardiner getting a little more busy than in previous years.
Finally
Alright, I am going to wrap this up now, as I could either stop here or go on for an hour or so, really getting into the weeds on these numbers. The biggest takeaway to have from this is that the park will be busier from June through September than any other time of the year. As it always is. Yes, park visitation is increasing, but not at an alarming rate. Our country is growing in population too. Don’t let the amount of people visiting Yellowstone each year keep you away. The park is huge and full of lesser-known but equally stunning experiences.
Now, if you are visiting the park this year and need advice, please reach out to me, and I will do my best to help. Throughout the year, I will be giving tips and local tricks on how to avoid the busiest times of the day at well-known locations. I also have some guidebooks to help you find solitude beyond the boardwalks and where to see wildlife. I also offer hiking tours far from the popular spots, helping you see the true wilds of Yellowstone. All of those links are at the top of this page.
All Yellowstone visitation statistics used are from imra.nps.gov
