Devils Tower National Monument has seen record monthly visitation numbers this year despite being closed for nearly two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Devils Tower hosted 9,005 recreation visits in November, up 110% from November 2019. This was the busiest November on record and the third month in row of record visitation at the Tower.
Through November, the park recorded 420,330 recreation visits for 2020, down just 7% from the same period in 2019 despite the fact the country’s first national monument was closed from March 25 through May 21 due to health and safety concerns related to the pandemic.
Beginning in August, park visitation increased rapidly, with September, October and November seeing record visitor numbers.
Early winter visitation has continued to follow the upward trend, even though the season is typically very quiet, monument officials said.
The list below shows month to month recreation visits for the period between August through November compared to the same time in 2019.
August
2019 – 100,207
2020 – 113,593
September – record visitation
2019 –62,469
2020 – 68,726
October – record visitation
2019 –17,290
2020 – 29,908
November – record visitation
2019 – 4,294
2020 – 9,005
Visitors are encouraged to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for face coverings, physical distancing, and hand washing while visiting Devils Tower.
