More people visiting Glacier park this year

KALISPELL – Glacier National Park officials said an estimated 351,090 visitors entered the park in June.

The National Park Service Public Use Statistics Office said that’s a 12 percent increase compared with last year.

The total number of visitors so far this year at 521,000 is 6 percent more than last year, officials also said.

The park also saw overnight stays jump by 15 percent in June with 56,000 visitors.

Tent camping spiked 38 percent and RV and motorhome overnight stays jumped 12 percent, officials said.

Backcountry camping is also up with about 2,300 people spending the night in the wild in June. That’s a 30 percent increase compared with last year.