Glacier National Park had another banner month in August, with visitation numbers approaching record levels once again and overnight stays increasing from last year.
An estimated nearly 633,000 visitors went through Glacier National Park’s gates in August, approaching near record numbers and bringing the season’s total to more than 1.8 million visitors.
This year’s August numbers show a 16.8-percent increase over last year’s 541,997, adding another busy month to a summer already packed with visitors checking out the park during its centennial celebration.
High tourist levels often meant the parking lots were filled by mid-morning and campgrounds were full almost every day, according to a report from Glacier Park officials.
“We thank everyone for being patient and for sharing the park’s resources with so many fellow visitors this summer,” said park Superintendent Chas Cartwright in a statement. “We were also able to make many improvements to the park’s infrastructure with minimal impact to the visitor’s experience.”
Overnight stays in the park totaled 125,764 for August, up 4 percent from August 2009. Summer visitors also used the Going-to-the-Sun shuttle system at record levels, with a total 170,466 this season compared to last year’s 156,726 total.
The park’s west entrance had the most entries, totaling 251,543 and up 6 percent from last year. Other entrances experienced increases as well, including a 37 percent boost at St. Mary’s.
But the biggest increase was at the park’s Polebridge entrance, which saw 25,762 people in August, a 133 percent increase from last year’s August of about 11,000. So far, nearly 68,000 people have wandered through Polebridge, which represents a 92.9 percent increase over last year’s estimations.
Visitation numbers are on pace to break the record set in 1983, when 2.2 million people ventured into the park. At roughly 1.8 million estimated visitors already this year, 2010’s entry numbers are 11 percent higher than last year.