News Release

Yellowstone visitation statistics for October 2022

A person hikes along the Beaver Ponds Trail in fall.

NPS /S. Williams

News Release Date: November 15, 2022

Contact: Morgan Warthin, [phone]

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, WY – Yellowstone National Park hosted 232,117 recreation visits in October 2022. This is a 27% decrease from October 2021 (316,662 recreational visits), and a 36% increase from October 2019 (171,339) which was the last year before COVID.

On June 13, all entrances to Yellowstone National Park closed due to historic flooding. Park visitors were evacuated over the next 24 hours. On June 22, the East, South and West entrances to the park reopened on a limited entry basis. On July 2, entry restrictions on the East, South and West entrances were removed. The North (Gardiner, Montana) and Northeast (Cooke City/Silver Gate, Montana) entrances remained closed to visitor vehicle traffic through September. The Northeast Entrance reopened to regular visitor traffic on Oct. 15 and the North Entrance reopened on Oct. 30. Visitors traveling to the park this winter should stay informed about what's open and closed.

So far in 2022, the park has hosted 3,246,686 recreation visits, down 32% from 2021 at the same time.

The list below shows the year-to-date trend for recreation visits over the last several years (through October):
2022 – 3,246,686 (The park was closed June 13 through June 21. Three entrances opened June 22.)
2021 – 4,789,649
2020 – 3,753,531 (The park was closed March 24 through May 17. Two entrances opened May 18 and the remaining three opened on June 1.)
2019 – 3,979,154
2018 – 4,078,771
2017 – 4,084,762

More data on park visitation, including how we calculate these numbers, is available on the NPS Stats website.