Park sees surge in visitation

Recreational visitation to Glacier National Park was up about 6 percent over last year, recently released figures show.

Through June, Glacier Park saw 601,866 visitors, with more than half of them entering in June.

A total of 351,090 visitors entered the Park this June, a 11.9 percent increase over 2012.

The Going-to-the-Sun Road opened in its entirety on June 21, but access to Logan Pass from the east side actually came earlier than that — on June 17.

Once access to the pass begins, visitors surge into the Park. The weather also cooperated — late June and nearly all of July have been sunny and warm.

Nearly every entrance station posted higher numbers. The Polebridge entrance station reported 15,060 visitors in June, more than double the count last year. The West Glacier entrance station continued to be the busiest at 144,444 visitors in June, while the St. Mary entrance station reported 75,132 visitors.

Backcountry use in the Park is also up this year significantly. About 2,300 people spent the night in Glacier Park’s backcountry this June, nearly 30 percent more than last year.

Last June was very wet, with rain nearly every day. More than 6 inches of rain fell in Kalispell in June 2012.