Glacier still on record pace for visitors
Visitation took a hit from the vista-obscuring smoke that drifted through Glacier National Park last month, yet the park’s latest statistics still put it on pace to surpass the record 2.3 million visitors last year.
During August, an estimated 579,000 visitors entered the park, down 14.2 percent from 675,119 a year ago during the busiest August ever in Glacier.
However, year-to-date visitation of 1.9 million visitors is 2.1 percent ahead of the count at the end of August 2014.
Despite August’s poor showing, the year-to-date visitation has been bolstered by a strong start to the season, with record-breaking numbers in June and the second-busiest July in the 105 years since the park was established.
Park visitation is estimated by multiplying the number of vehicles by the average visitors per vehicle.
During August, all but one of the park’s eight entrances that count vehicles saw a drop from the previous year.
“It’s probably a combination of factors,” said Michelle Fidler, a spokeswoman for the park. “The fire activity probably had an impact on visitation as well as smoke — which was from across the west — affecting this area.”
Polebridge was the only entrance with a jump in visitation last month, up 36 percent from August a year ago. Year-to-date visitation at Polebridge has increased 25.2 percent from last year.
West Glacier’s monthly visitation dropped 11.3 percent from 2014’s record August, but overall visitation since the beginning of the year still has a 7.7 percent lead compared with 2014. The West Entrance has accounted for nearly half of all park visitation this year, with an estimated 911,930 people entering from January through August.
Visitors entering at Camas changed only slightly, down 2.5 percent from August last year and up 8.5 percent since Jan. 1.
It’s little surprise that Goat Lick’s August visitor count was down from last year after the Sheep Fire forced the evacuation of Essex and two closures of the stretch of U.S. 2 on which the popular wildlife-viewing area lies. Even after the closures were lifted, vehicles were restricted from stopping in the area for several days.
The St. Mary area has been hit particularly hard this year, first by the Reynolds Creek Fire in July, which led to temporary closures and evacuations, and then by the Thompson Fire, which sent plumes of smoke downwind to the small community on the park’s east border.
Besides Goat Lick, it’s the only entry point with year-to-date visitation trailing last year, having experienced a drop of 15.9 percent. It’s also the second most-trafficked entrance after West Glacier, with a total 338,558 visitors this year.
Total visitation could get a significant boost this year from extended access to Going-to-the-Sun Road. The park will keep the full length of the road open until Oct. 4, two weeks longer than it was open last year.
Still, it all depends on the weather.
Sun Road already had its first snow-related closure last weekend after a Friday night storm dumped more than six inches of snow at Logan Pass.
As was the case last year, vehicles will be able to reach Logan Pass from the west side until the third week in October, weather permitting.
Reporter Samuel Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.