Glacier visitation tops 3.3 million for 2017, the most ever
A hiker looks down at Isabel Lake from Two Medicine Pass in this photo from 2017.
Glacier National Park’s final visitation for 2017 capped out at 3.305 million for the year, as final visitation numbers were released recently.
Visitation in December was up for last year by 3 percent, with 13,268 visitors.
The 3.3 million mark makes it Glacier’s busiest year ever, despite the Sprague Fire, which shut down the west side of the Going-to-the-Sun Road for more than a month in September and October.
Glacier saw 1 million visitors in July alone — the most of any western park ever.
Visitation this year was up 10 percent over last year, which saw 3,005,448 visitors.
There were a few numbers that were down over last year. Backcountry stays were down 11.5 percent, from 38,421 stays to 34,011 stays this year. That’s likely due to several campgrounds and trails being closed due to fires last summer in Glacier.
RV and tent stays were down as well — also likely due to campground closures and smoke.