February 13, 2019 - 3:47 PM
LOVELAND, Colo. - Officials say nearly 4.6 million people visited Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado last year, breaking the park's attendance record.
The Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald reports nearly 73,000 more people visited the park last year than in 2016, the previous record-holding year.
The number of visitors last year represented a 3.5 per cent increase from 2017's attendance numbers.
The 2018 attendance also marked a continuing trend of increasing park visitation during the fall, especially on weekends.
Seven of the 10 busiest days in the park were in September, when fall colours begin appearing and elk are bugling. The three other busiest days occurred in July and August.
Park spokeswoman Kyle Patterson says the high numbers in September offset the monthly visitation drop in October, November and December.
___
Information from: Loveland Daily Reporter-Herald, http://www.reporterherald.com/
News from © The Associated Press, 2019