Glacier Park posts big visitation numbers

Visitation to Glacier National Park in August continued to be robust, up 3.7 percent over last year.

Total recreational visits for the month were 626,556, compared to 604,039 last year. Year to date, visits are up 3.4 percent at 1.783 million, compared to 1.724 million last year.

This year’s numbers are just shy of the 2010 mark, when the Park celebrated its centennial and saw 1.809 million visits through August.

Two regions did see a drop in visits over past year. The number of visitors entering at Polebridge was 39,576, down 6.5 percent from 42,335, and the number at Walton/Goat Lick was 64,060, down 15.5 percent from 75,824 last year.

The weather in August was hot and sunny with little rain, which always boosts visitation numbers.