Yellowstone National Park Reports Busiest May On Record In 2026

Yellowstone National Park hosted 570,272 recreation visits in May 2026, up 1% from May 2025 (566,363 recreation visits).

Visitation in May 2026 was the busiest on record for the month of May and showed a 20% increase from May 2021 (473,799 recreation visits), which was Yellowstone’s record-breaking year with over 4.8 million recreation visits.

So far in 2026, the park has hosted 773,653 recreation visits, up 1% from 2025 (762,672 recreation visits), and up 19% 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):

2026 – 773,653

2025 – 762,672

2024 – 719,127

2023 – 644,979

2022 – 733,471 (The park was closed June 13 through June 21 due to the history flood event. Three entrances opened on June 22.)

2021 – 649,153