Rocky Mountain National Park Has Third Busiest Season On Record

Date: January 17, 2012
Contact: Kyle Patterson, [phone]

The annual visitation for Rocky Mountain National Park in 2011 was approximately 3,335,862 people, only 1.3% less than the record set in 2000. Annual visitation in 2000 was the highest at 3,380,044, followed by 1999 with 3,366,253 visitors.      

Gathering park visitation statistics is not an exact science. Counters and formulas are used to collect data at a variety of locations on the east and west sides of the park to assist in estimating park visitation. Longs Peak and Wild Basin area traffic counts were corrected in 2011, which has helped with the increase in visitation.      

July is the most visited month in Rocky Mountain National Park, followed by August, September and June. October and May can also see many visitors but are very weather-dependent.       

During 2012, Rocky Mountain National Park staff are conducting a person per vehicle study, and changing some sites where visitor estimates are calculated to improve data collection.          

To find more specific information about park visitation please access the Rocky Mountain National Park visitor use reports on the National Park Service website, https://www.nature.nps.gov/stats/park.cfm Please choose 'Rocky Mountain NP,' then 'ROMO YTD Summary Report' and then the 'View Report' button. The total number of visitors is on the bottom line.