Cool spring put chill on Glacier Park visitation

NATIONAL PARKS — Glacier National Park’s attendance declined 15.7 percent last year after a record number of visitors were logged during the park’s centennial celebration in 2010.

The National Park Service says 1.85 million people entered the park in 2011, compared to 2.2 million the year before.

The park’s peak summer season got off to a slow start because of cold weather from early April through June that delayed snowmelt and the opening of Going-to-the-Sun Road. The road’s July 13 opening at Logan Pass was the latest on record.

The park service says concession lodging in the park was down 22 percent, tent camping was down nearly 6 percent and backcountry overnight stays were down 16 percent. Total overnight stays were down 10.8 percent compared with 2010.