by 
Summer is now in full swing in Yellowstone National Park, as shown by the visitation numbers for June 2024. While summer didn’t technically start until June 21st, the sixth month of the year is typically when true high visitation begins in Yellowstone. The park, located mostly in Wyoming and a few areas in Montana and Idaho, experienced its second-busiest June in park history, receiving nearly one million visitors.
On average, Yellowstone saw 30,487 people daily in June arriving in 11,369 cars, nearly double the number of people and cars from May 2024. During May 2024, 6,426 cars entered Yellowstone National Park on average each day, totaling roughly 16,853 people every 24 hours. The majority, 44% of all visitors, entered through West Yellowstone.
In the following sections, I’ll break down the visitation numbers with historical context, as well as provide some insight into other things you may find interesting.
To start, as always, I will share the press release Yellowstone National Park sent out regarding June visitation, which is short and to the point:
The park hosted 914,612 recreation visits in June 2024, up 8% from June 2023 (847,864 recreation visits). This June’s visitation showed a 3% decrease from June 2021 (938,845 recreation visits).
So far in 2024, the park has hosted 1,633,739 recreation visits, up 9% from 2023 (1,492,843 recreation visits), and up 3% from 2021 (1,587,998 recreation visits).
The list below shows the year-to-date trend for recreation visits over the last several years (through June):
2024 – 1,633,739
2023 – 1,492,843
2022 – 1,258,834 (The park was closed from June 13 through June 21 due to the historic flood event. Three entrances opened on June 22.)
2021 – 1,587,998
2020 – 719,054 (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 – 1,358,629
Last month, I stated that June of 2024 would possibly break the million visitor mark. While visitation didn’t quite hit that milestone, it was close. I am guessing that we will see over a million visitors in July, though. Breaking the million visitor mark for a month has only happened once in the park’s history and that was July of 2021. July tends to be busier than June, so it won’t take much. We shall see in early August if the July numbers are over a million.
Until then, we will look back at June’s visitation numbers a little more in-depth.
HOW MANY CARS WERE IN YELLOWSTONE IN JUNE
According to the park’s visitation website, 341,067 cars entered the park in June 2024. This is an increase of about 7%, as 318,035 cars entered the park in June 2023. June of 2022 had 196,277 cars, limited by a full park closure and then limited access after the 2022 floods. In June of 2021, 357,347 cars entered the park’s gates, which is the record for Yellowstone.
Using the numbers above, June 2024 saw roughly 11,369 cars per day. Considering that 914,612 people entered the park in these 341,067 cars, we can safely assume that on average, there were 2.68 people per car.
If you are curious about how many people have been in each car, on average since 2021, here you go:
2.68 people per car in 2024
2.66 people per car in 2023
2.67 people per car in 2022
2.63 people per car in 2021
These numbers do not include tour buses.
The following is the number of tour buses for June 2024:
In 2024 there were 989 tour buses
In 2023 there were 577 tour buses
In 2022 there were 473 tour buses
In 2021 there were 826 tour buses
WHAT ARE THE MOST POPULAR ENTRANCES TO THE PARK?
There are five entrance stations to Yellowstone National Park which you must pay to enter. There is one in the east, the northeast, the north, the west, and the south. In June 2024, every entrance was open. So where did everyone enter Yellowstone in May 2024?
Once again, the overwhelming majority of people, who visited Yellowstone in June entered through West Yellowstone. Out of the 341,067 vehicles that entered the park, 151,177 came in through West. That is roughly 44% of all traffic. If you recall looking at May of 2024’s visitation numbers, 48% of all park traffic entered through West.
The second most frequently used entrance station in Yellowstone for June 2024 was the north gate at Gardiner. Gardiner saw 68,453 vehicles or roughly 20%. The south gate was third, with 61,189 vehicles or approximately 18%. Fourth was the east gate, which saw 33,732 vehicles or around 10%, and fifth was the northeast gate with 26,516 visitors or just under 8%.
HOW MANY PEOPLE ENTERED THE PARK PER ENTRANCE?
People entering at the west entrance: 407,367
People entering at the north entrance: 180,576
People entering at the south entrance: 170,894
People entering at the east entrance: 93,319
People entering at the northeast entrance: 62,453
2.69 people per car at the west entrance
2.63 people per car at the north entrance
2.79 people per car at the south entrance
2.77 people per car at the east entrance
2.35 people per car at the northeast entrance
WHERE DOES EVERYONE STAY?
In June 2024, the park had 270,465 overnight stays within the boundaries of Yellowstone. Out of that number, 115,359 of the stays were at front country campgrounds in the park. If the number seems shockingly high compared to May 2024, be aware that this was the first month of the year when all the campgrounds (aside from Tower) were open.
The busiest campground in June was Fishing Bridge RV Park, with 24,963 stays. Madison Campground was second with 20,832. Third was Bridge Bay with 19,360 stays, followed by Grant Village at 16,942. Rounding out the list is Mammoth with 7,724, Indian Creek with 6,685, Lewis Lake with 6,172, and Slough Creek with 1,037 stays.
There were also a total of 1,436 group campground stays, with 463 staying in Madison and 873 in Grant Village. Bridge Bay reported zero group campers for June 2024.
The backcountry camping numbers for June 2024 were up 13.8% compared to 2023, with 4,158 total backcountry campers.
The other 149,512 overnight stays in the park were at one of the lodges. Old Faithful’s lodges saw 40,496 stays, Lake Yellowstone had 27,570 stays, Mammoth Hotel had 14,450 stays, Roosevelt had 4,513 stays, and Canyon had a whopping 45,541 stays.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR JULY, AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER?
July will be busy. August will also be busy. September will probably see a new monthly record for visitation. I could be wrong, but barring some sort of disaster or worldwide problem, the trends are pointing this way. It is safe to say that over the next three months, Yellowstone will see well over two million visitors.
If you are visiting this summer, there are a few easy ways to avoid the larger crowds at well-known destinations in the park. These are by no means the only ways to avoid crowds, but they are a good start.
The first is to arrive early. Like really early. Plan on entering the park as close to sunrise as you can if you want to experience places like the Grand Prismatic Hot Springs, the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River, and Old Faithful without a lot of people.
The second is don’t stay in West Yellowstone. Facts are facts and West Yellowstone is consistently the most crowded entrance to the park. That being said, it is also the spot with most amenities, so you may not have an option. If you are staying there, know that summer lines to enter the park start before or around 8 am most days and can last until noon.
Third, if you aren’t a morning person, enter the park in the early afternoon and stay through sunset. Most people will call it a day and leave the park around dinnertime. This is when you can go to all of those well-known spots and have an easier time finding parking and solace in nature.
Fourth, pack food and drinks. If you have food and drinks already packed, you take away the need to stand in line and wait for your food at the areas of the park with the most amenities. This will automatically make your day feel less stressful and even allow you to have lunch at one of the park’s many scenic picnic areas. Just remember to not feed any wildlife, including birds, squirrels, or seasonal workers.
Finally, if you are physically able, skip the parking areas at crowded spots and take a hike. You can access the famous spots of the park by parking farther away and hiking to them or hit a lesser-known trail and see what is found when you go beyond the boardwalks.
Speaking of going Beyond the Boardwalks, This is when I mention that I have a guidebook for hiking trails in and around Yellowstone, as well as offer guided hiking trips to some of the most wonderful scenic spots in the park. Yellowstone is more than just what is seen from the roads and well-known areas and I would love to show you what you are missing.
Find your perfect hiking tour here.
All data used in this post was gathered at: https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/Reports/Park/YELL
