WEST GLACIER – A spike in November visits has Glacier National Park leaders thinking the park could finish close to record territory after all for 2018.
The combination of another late summer wildfire and an early winter closing the Going-to-the-Sun Road created a slow down in Glacier National Park visits during the second half of the season.
Those factors mean that the Park isn’t likely to break last season’s all-time record of 3.2 million visitors.
October visits were actually down 10% but milder weather in November seems to have created a re-bound. New stats show an overall jump of 32% compared to last year, driven largely by people coming to St. Mary, Polebridge and West Glacier-Apgar.
Glacier National Park Superintendent Jeff Mow says even though overall visits are still down by 10% year-to-date if visits remain strong in December the park may finish with its second best visitation mark.
