Published July 3, 2008 06:48PM
Yellowstone sits smack in one of the most remote spots in the lower 48, so visitors have to spend some serious coin on gas or plane tickets to get there. But that apparently isn’t deterring anyone: More than 612,000 people went to America’s first national park in June, a record number of visitors for that month. That’s a whole lot of moosejams.
In fact, Yellowstone is nearly on-target for another record year for visitations. In the first six months of 2008, 947,000 people visited, just slightly off of last year’s record of 978,000 for the first six months. 2007 holds the record for most visitors to Yellowstone ever, at 3.15 million. Depending on how July and August play out, 2008 could come out on top.
Despite Yellowstone’s rep for stocking herds of fannypacked masses, the most remote spot in the lower 48 lies within the park’s boundaries. Look for Mark Jenkins’ feature story about it, “Destination Nowhere,” in BACKPACKER’s September issue.
— Ted Alvarez