September Visitation Dipped Slightly in Glacier Park
Wildfires appear to have impacted visitation in the park the last two months
By Beacon Staff
Slightly fewer people visited Glacier National Park in September than a year ago, according to the latest data released by the National Park Service.
There were 337,005 visitors in Glacier Park last month, a 4.7 percent decrease over September 2014.
Year-to-date visitation remains slightly ahead of last year’s record pace, with 2.24 million visitors, a 1 percent increase over this time last year.
Yellowstone National Park has already set a record this year with more than 3.8 million visits at the end of September, and is on track to top 4 million visits by the year’s end.
Wildfires appear to have impacted visitation in the park the last two months. Walton/Goat Lick, an area impacted by the Sheep Fire in Essex, reported only 2,825 visitors, down from 11,085 a year ago.
Polebridge reported a 31 percent increase in visitation, with 11,220 people last month compared to 8,520 a year ago.
Overnight trips in the park dropped in all categories, according to park stats. Overnight stays in concession lodging sites dropped dramatically. There were 1,699 overnight stays in September compared to 13,035 a year ago. The number of tent campers dropped 8.6 percent, to 12,265 stays. RV overnight stays dipped 15 percent to 14,109 stays. Group campers fell to only 48 compared to 410 a year ago.