Park visits skyrocket in August

Glacier National Park visitation jumped in August, but the park's free shuttle system still ended up with fewer riders than last summer.

The National Park Service Statistics Office said August visitation increased by 17.75 percent from the same month last year, helping to erase sharp visitor declines in June and July.

For the first eight months of the year, a total of 1,672,942 visitors entered the park, just .26 percent fewer than the 1,677,371 visitors during the same period in 2007.

At the end of July, visitation had been down 7.75 percent compared to the first seven months of 2007.

A surge in visitors turned those numbers around in August 2008, when there were 579,711 visitors (compared to 492,343 in August 2007).

Tourism officials have acknowledged the impacts of record-high gas prices, snowstorms in mid-June and a late opening of Going-to-the-Sun Road at Logan Pass.

But they also have said that there has been robust Canadian visitation in the park and elsewhere in Montana due to the improved value of the Canadian dollar.

Gas prices may have encouraged more riders on the shuttle system, but fewer visitors in June and July, along with a shorter operation season and daily operating hours, also had an effect on the system's use.

Park officials said the system had 105,639 riders this summer, compared to 132,093 riders in 2007, its first season of operation.

That included 80,375 riders on the west side of the park and 25,264 on the east side.

Park officials said that mechanical problems on four 53-passenger buses used on the east side required temporary use of smaller, 12-passenger buses normally used west of Logan Pass.

This year, the shuttle system operated 12 hours a day, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. During 2007, the last riders boarded at 9 p.m. The last day of operation this summer was Aug. 31.

The shuttle system came about as the result of a cooperative agreement between the park, the Montana Department of Transportation and Flathead County. The plan includes a provision for the buses to be used throughout the state for public transportation during the park's off-season.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com