Yellowstone Survey Results Released

Above, the tour bus we took in 2015 to see Yellowstone National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Survey results of visitors to Yellowstone National Park has been released.

The general consensus, it's crowded!

KIFI Local News 8 reported:

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (KIFI/KIDK) - Most visitors say their recent trip to Yellowstone National Park was good or excellent.   That was one of the findings from a survey of more than 4,000 people who visited the park in 2018.   The study was conducted by Otak Inc., RRC Associates and the University of Montana Institute for Tourism Recreation Research. 

The park released a peer-reviewed report of Yellowstone's 2018 Visitor Use Study Thursday.  Over 4,000 people were surveyed, one of the largest returns in the history of the park service.  It was conducted during one week of each month from May to September, 2018. 

Visitation has increased significantly over the past 10 years, ranging from 3.2 million in 2009 to 4.1 million in 2018.  The survey indicates 85% of those interviewed thought their experience was good or excellent.  Most said their main reason for visiting were the scenery, wildlife, and thermal features.  

Most first-time visitors could deal with the traffic, but that patience wore thin for return visitors or people spending several days there.   Over half of those visitors think there were too many people. 

During our 2015 trip to Yellowstone, I planned on being there in mid-June, before kids are in their summer vacations. That, plus taking tours through the park with a tour company (Buffalo Bus Touring Co.) so I wouldn't have to contend with traffic, made our stress levels very low to non-existent. I knew ahead of time how crowded Yellowstone gets during the peak summer months. The expense of the tours (two tours) was well worth it and they picked us up at our campground in West Yellowstone, Montana.

Above, a crowd gathers for an eruption of Old Faithful Geyser last July. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I was reluctant about going there last July due to the crowds, but we entered the park and went as far as Old Faithful Geyser. Yes, the traffic was pretty heavy and I was constantly in fear of having the motorhome hit by some bozo not paying any attention to the road.

In contrast, our experience in neighboring Grand Teton National Park on the same trip was far less stressful as there were no crowds in the park. It was actually very enjoyable.

To read the survey results, go here.