News Release

Yellowstone National Park reports August 2026 visitation statistics

Crowds dispersing after a mid-day Old Faithful eruption

NPS / Jacob W. Frank

News Release Date: September 15, 2026
Contact: Yellowstone Public Affairs, [phone]

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyo. – Yellowstone National Park hosted 856,467 recreation visits in August 2026, down 3% from August 2025 (881,936 recreation visits).

Visitation in August 2026 showed a 7% decrease from August 2021 (921,844 recreation visits), which was Yellowstone's record-breaking year with over 4.8 million recreation visits and the busiest August on record.

So far in 2026, the park has hosted 3,491,850 recreation visits, down 2% from 2025 (3,547,967 recreation visits), and down 3% from 2021 (3,590,609 recreation visits).

The list below shows the year-to-date trend for recreation visits over the last several years (through August):

2026 – 3,491,850
2025 – 3,547,967
2024 – 3,494,350
2023 – 3,308,924
2022 – 2,437,607 (The park was closed June 13 through June 21 due to the historic flood event. Three entrances opened on June 22.)
2021 – 3,590,609

Plan ahead for your trip to Yellowstone by browsing our top things to know and downloading the free NPS app. Protect yourself and the park by taking the Yellowstone Pledge, act responsibly and safely, and set a good example for others.
 

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

nps.gov/yell

About the National Park Service. The National Park Service preserves America’s most treasured natural and cultural places for the enjoyment, education and inspiration of this and future generations. Learn more at nps.gov.

 

 

Tags: yell experience, yell visitor use management

RSS Feed | What is RSS?