Buoyed by unseasonably warm temperatures and post-pandemic momentum, Wyoming’s State Parks and Historic Sites remained popular destinations this year, with visits keeping pace with last year’s record-setting numbers.

State Parks is on pace to match the record visitation of 2020. Through October, nearly 5.2 million people had visited Wyoming’s State Parks and Historic Sites, a 24% increase over the system’s five-year average.

Buffalo Bill State Park was right in-line with that trend, though visits in 2021 are actually down about 5% from the same point in 2020. Through October, 114,580 visits had been logged at the Buffalo Bill Reservoir west of Cody — roughly 6,650 fewer visits than the prior year. Still, vistation remains up dramatically from 2019, when 91,953 vists were logged in the first 10 months of the year.

Additionally, the Buffalo Bill Dam Visitor Center surged in popularity this year. During the center’s May through September season, a total of 75,133 visits were recorded, up from not only a COVID-crimped figure of 39,800 visits in 2020 but also the 72,576 visits recorded in 2019.

The overall visitation numbers have not surprised Wyoming State Park officials, as they expected continued interest following the 2020 jump, but the data has encouraged them.

“These statistics are an indication to us that we had a lot of first-time visitors come to our parks last year as a way to safely recreate during the pandemic,” State Parks and Cultural Resources Deputy Director Dave Glenn said. “A lot of those people have returned this year despite a lot more options now available for entertainment or recreation.”

Glenn also attributed the continued influx of visitors to the hard work of the parks’ passionate and dedicated staff, who work to provide a pleasant experience.

Glendo State Park has continued to sustain last year’s momentum with increased visitation through much of the year. By the end of October, Glendo had hosted 660,027 recreationists — a more than 49,000-visit or 8% increase over the same point in 2020.

Other state parks to see increases this year are Boysen (up 4%); Curt Gowdy (10%); Guernsey (12%); and Hawk Springs (10%).

Wyoming State Parks officials say they continue to look for new ways to engage with these new visitors. The division is currently working to expand campgrounds throughout the system — although a plan to add campsitesites on the South Fork side of Buffalo Bill Reservoir was halted after running into local opposition — plus other outdoor recreation opportunities, such as archery ranges, additional trails and special events.

(CJ Baker contributed reporting.)