tourism

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Grand Teton sees record visitation in 2014

Grand Teton National Park experienced record numbers in 2014 for both total visitation and recreational visits, according to final statistics tallied for the year. Over 4.29 million people entered the park during the year, with over 2.79 million of those making a recreational excursion. Visitation peaked during July with over 686,000 people touring Grand Teton. Continue Reading →

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Yellowstone visitation up 6 percent over 2013

Visitation to Yellowstone National Park for the first eight months of the year has hit the 2.7 million mark. With four months left in the calendar year, Yellowstone is on track to have one of its highest visitation years on record. A total of 773,357 recreational visitors came to Yellowstone in August, an increase of 6.65 % compared to August 2013 numbers. There were 2,717,040 recreational visits for the first eight months of 2014 compared to 2013 levels, an increase of 6.38 %. Continue Reading →

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Yellowstone visitation up slightly so far in 2014

Visitation to Yellowstone National Park for the month of May and for the first five months of 2014 overall is up almost six percent compared to the previous year. Visitation to the world’s first national park begins to pick up in May as weather improves and interior roads and visitor facilities begin to open to the public. There were 310,039 recreational visitors to Yellowstone in May and a total of 415,185 for the first five months of 2014. Continue Reading →

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Cody police planning for summer return of Hells Angels

A Hells Angels member from Arizona checks traffic during the 2006 World Run in Cody, Wyo. before pulling onto Sheridan Avenue.

Tourism and business boosters in the Yellowstone National Park gateway town of Cody, Wyo. have long worked to convince travelers to spend an extra day in Cody, and to come back a few years later for a repeat visit. Those efforts may have proven successful with members of the Hells Angels motorcycle club, who last gathered here in 2006, and are reported to be planning a return trip this summer. Continue Reading →

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Yellowstone and Grand Teton near top of list in visitor spending

Only a handful of National Park Service destinations generate the magnitude of spending by visitors in gateway communities as the powerful duo of Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. The 241-mile Blue Ridge Parkway cresting the southern Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina is the only Park Service attraction to fuel more visitor spending than Yellowstone and Grand Teton, according to a Park Service report released this week titled 2012 National Park Visitor Spending Effects. Continue Reading →

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Shutdown wrecks long-planned vacations at Yellowstone Park

About two dozen visitors to Yellowstone National Park watch Old Faithful Geyser erupt Tuesday afternoon despite a sign advising that the attraction is closed in the wake of a federal goverment shutdown. No visitors were allowed into national parks Tuesday, while those already inside park boundaries will be asked to leave.

The prismatic colors of Morning Glory Pool in Yellowstone National Park don't typically evoke political discussions, but Tuesday was no ordinary day in the park. With a federal government shutdown barring visitors from entering national parks around the country, those remaining inside Yellowstone's boundaries were left wondering whether they would be allowed to stay, and for how long. Continue Reading →

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Wyoming Tourism ad campaign urges TV viewers to ‘Roam Free’

Seeing Old Faithful for the 985th time can be a perfunctory, or even frustrating experience. But almost any trip through Yellowstone or Grand Teton national parks yields a new sight, a forgotten wonder or some other reminder of how great it is to live at the doorstep of a national park. Experiencing that again through the fresh eyes of a first-time visitor only heightens the feeling. Continue Reading →

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Big Sky Rising: Is Bozeman a model for a new economy in greater Yellowstone?

No one is suggesting that quaint Bozeman, Mont. will become the next Santa Clara, Calif. It's considered a generation behind the evolution, even, of Boulder, Colo. But many do believe it epitomizes the emergence of the Green Coast economy – and could be a model for other rural communities across the West. Continue Reading →

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Montana finds riches in ‘geotourism’ niches

Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks have long been pitched to tourists as great family vacation destinations. But with fewer families packing up the station wagon for two-week summer trips each year, regional tourism officials are changing their marketing strategies to focus on another kind of visitor: the geotraveler. Continue Reading →

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