Visitation numbers for August decreased slightly in Yellowstone National Park. The overall decrease for August 2016 totaled 1.5 percent below August 2015. However, the first seven months of 2016 are up 4.3 percent compared to the previous year.

Two of the park’s five entrances (West Entrance and North Entrance) showed an increase in vehicles for the month of August compared to August 2015. The South Entrance showed a decrease because it was closed for six days due to fire activity south of the park.

Once again, the most striking increase in vehicle traffic was with buses. There were 16 percent more buses (303 buses) this August compared with August 2015.

While many factors could be at play, park managers point to the National Park Service’s Centennial year, marketing and tourism promotions by the states of Montana and Wyoming, and lower gas prices as influences in the record number of visits to Yellowstone so far this year. For additional park visitation data and information on how these statistics are calculated, go to irma.nps.gov/Stats/Reports/Park.