Yellowstone National Park hosted 566,363 recreation visits in May 2025, up 8% from May 2024 (522,450 recreation visits).
Visitation in May 2025 was the busiest on record and showed a 20% increase from May 2021 (473,799 recreation visits). Yellowstone’s record-breaking year was 2021 with over 4.8 million visitors.
So far in 2025, the park has hosted 762,672 recreation visits, up 6% from 2024 (719,127 recreation visits), and up 17% from 2021 (649,153 recreation visits).
The list below shows the year-to-date trend for recreation visits over the last several years (through May):
2025 – 762,672
2024 – 719,127
2023 – 644,979
2022 – 733,471 (The park was closed June 13 through June 21 due to the historic flood event. Three entrances opened on June 22.)
2021 – 649,153
2020 – 145,849 (The park was closed March 24 through May 17 due to COVID-19. Two entrances opened on May 18 and the remaining three opened on June 1.)
Visiting Yellowstone National Park during the busy summer months? Plan ahead 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 NPS calculates these numbers, is available on the NPS Stats website
OUR RECENT E-NEWSLETTER DISCUSSED WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE NATIONAL PARKS THIS SUMMER IN LIGHT OF FUNDING AND STAFFING CUTBACKS. YOU CAN VIEW IT HERE