Yellowstone joins Glacier in rising visitor popularity

As Yellowstone National Park moves into the busiest part of the year, June saw record-setting attendance numbers.

Yellowstone tracked more than 780,700 recreational visits last month, an increase of 17 percent over June 2014 and 12 percent more than the previous record set in June 2010.

The previous busiest June had 694,800 visits.

The visitor count at Yellowstone is up almost 20 percent for the year thus far.  

As of the end of June, visitation was close to 1.3 million, an increase of 314,000 people through that point in 2014.

Montana’s other major national park, Glacier, also is on a record pace for visitors this year.

Through June, Glacier Park visitation was up 25.8 percent over 2014, which was the busiest year in the park’s 105-year history.

Glacier’s year-to-date tally of 642,438 visitors was boosted by a record June when 414,671 people visited Glacier.

July and August are the busiest months of the year for tourists at both Glacier and Yellowstone.