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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Outdoors blog

Yellowstone Park attracting record visitation

A grizzly bear and her cubs stop traffic in Yellowstone National Park. (Tom Mangelsen / Associated Press)
A grizzly bear and her cubs stop traffic in Yellowstone National Park. (Tom Mangelsen / Associated Press)

PARKS -- Following news that Glacier Park is setting records for visitation this summer, Yellowstone National Park set a new record for monthly visitations in July, which is often the busiest month of the summer season.

Park officials say 995,917 people visited in July, topping the previous record set last July by 1.5 percent. Tourism for the first seven months of 2016 is up 6.5 percent compared to the previous year.

Officials say the most striking increase in vehicle traffic was from buses, with 13 percent more buses this July compared with July 2015.

Park superintendent Dan Wenk said in June that a record-setting July isn’t necessarily something to celebrate because the 2.2-million-square-mile park is getting stretched to capacity.

America's national parks received worldwide publicity marking 2016 as the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.

Many parks fans might conclude that 2016 is the worst summer in history to visit popular national parks.



Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

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