Glacier Park visitation down in May

Visitation to Glacier National Park in May was down 14 percent compared to May of last year and visitation to St. Mary was down 50 percent compared to last year. But the St. Mary numbers may be skewed, the park notes that a counter was down at least part of the month.

Still, visitation was also down west of the Divide, with visitation to the west entrance down 5 percent compared to last year.

All told, 251,704 visitors came to the Park so far this year, compared to 269,347 last year, a drop of 6.6 percent year to date.

In St. Mary, the park counted 13,639 visitors in May. Last year it was 28,312.

May was a soggy month east of the divide — with rain and snow — particularly on Memorial Day weekend, which saw heavy rain and even some flooding.

Two Medicine was down 21 percent as well, though Many Glacier was actually up 10 percent.

Overnight stays in the park were down 10 percent and backcountry use was down 20 percent.

May is typically considered the “shoulder” season in Glacier. Most people visit in June, July and August and early September.