Glacier Park visits up 14.3 percent
Hikers take a break Sunday to look at the cascading water of St. Mary Falls on the east side of Glacier National Park. Through June, visitation numbers at Glacier are up 14 percent over last year. Allison Money/Daily Inter Lake
Associated Press/Daily Inter Lake
Visitor numbers at Glacier National Park were up 14.3 percent from January through June compared with last year.
According to the National Park Service Statistics Office, 484,458 visitors entered Glacier during the first six months this year, compared to 423,883 in 2008.
Park Service numbers show that 327,572 people visited Glacier last month, up from 287,000 in June 2008. May also was a busy month, with visitation up 20 percent from a year earlier.
The numbers are good news for the Flathead Valley's tourism industry that relies on the park as a perennial ace to draw summer visitors.
"The Glacier Park numbers are our indicators," said Dori Muehlhof, executive director of the Flathead Convention and Visitor Bureau. She said lodging businesses are reporting solid bookings for July.
July and August are the busiest months for Glacier visitors.
Last year, winter conditions in the park continued well into June last year, delaying the full opening of the Going-to-the-Sun Road until July 2. Park officials say gasoline prices exceeding $4 per gallon also hurt tourism.
Damage from a huge avalanche that swept across the Sun Road in early January this year threatened to keep the popular scenic route from opening on time again.
But road crews had travelers on their way over Logan Pass by June 26. Gas prices also have stayed considerably lower so far this year, hovering around $2.60 per gallon last week as compared with about $4.17 the same time last year.
Also helping park visits have been the good weather and a lack of fires.
So far this year, recreational-vehicle overnight stays are up 35 percent in Glacier, while tent overnight stays are up 20 percent from a year ago.
Entrance stations at Many Glacier and Two Medicine on the east side of Glacier had sharp increases in visitors for the first half of 2009. Many Glacier visitation was up 57.6 percent and Two Medicine recorded a 25.8-percent increase.
At the main entrance stations, West Glacier was up 10.8 percent and St. Mary was up 8.8 percent from a year ago.