Official numbers show increased Park visitation

Glacier National Park saw a 1.3 percent increase in visitation in 2013 over 2012, according to the official final tally.

According to National Park Service figures, 2.190 million people visited the Park in 2013, compared to 2.162 million in 2012, making 2013 the fourth-busiest year on record.

Visitation was up in December as well, with 10,482 visitors in 2013 compared to 9,862 in 2012.

The numbers could have been higher but a government shutdown in the first two weeks of October 2013 closed Glacier Park to visitors.

Overnight stays were 2.3 percent higher in 2013. About 370,924 people camped or stayed in a hotel or motel inside the Park in 2012, compared to 379,312 in 2013.

Backcountry use saw a big jump — 9.4 percent. About 26,634 people camped in the backcountry in 2012, compared to 29,132 in 2013.

Including frontcountry camps, 139,559 people slept in a tent in the Park in 2013. Recreational vehicles were also popular — 111,063 visitors camped in RVs in 2013 compared to 109, 068 in 2012.

The Park’s lodges and motels were the most popular places to sleep, with 127,031 guests in 2013, compared to 126,055 in 2012.

While the Park’s overall visitor count was 1.3 percent higher in 2013, four of the nine entrance stations reported lower numbers in 2013.

The West Entrance, which accounts for about 45 percent of the total count, saw a 5.2 percent increase in visitors in 2013. Two Medicine saw a small 0.8 percent increase, while Belly River and Cut Bank saw no increase or decrease.