Despite one of the worst economies in recent memory, visitors flocked to Yellowstone National Park in 2009. In fact, the year was a record breaker, with nearly 3.3 million visitors passing through the park's gates.

While visitation to the world's first national park got off to a slow start in 2009, by the time summer arrived the crowds were in tow. By year's end, the 3.295 million visitors reflected a 7.5 percent increase from 2008 crowds, and a 4.6 percent boost from the old record of 3.15 million visitors counted in 2007, according to park officials.

All park entrances recorded annual visitation increases compared to 2008 levels. Double-digit percentage increases were recorded through the Northeast and East Entrances. The West Entrance continues to be the park’s busiest, which recorded more than 1.3 million recreational visitors in 2009, according to the park.

Here's a breakdown of the top 10 years in park history in terms of annual visitation:

Rank Year Visitation
1 2009 3,295,187
2 2007 3,151,343
3 1992 3,144,405
4 1999 3,131,381
5 1995 3,125,285
6 1998 3,120,830
7 2008 3,066,570
8 1994 3,046,145
9 2003 3,019,375
10 1996 3,102,171

Visitation to Yellowstone for the month of December was up 10.8 percent compared to 2008. Of the 18,107 visitors to Yellowstone in December, 9,483 came by automobile, RV, or bus; 4,740 were passengers on snowcoaches; and 4,512 entered the park on guided snowmobile tours. Access to the interior of the park is restricted to over-snow travel from December 15 through March 15. The North Entrance and the road from Gardiner, Montana, through Mammoth Hot Springs on to Cooke City, outside the park’s Northeast Entrance, is open to wheeled vehicle travel all year.

Regarding over-snow traffic, an average of 183 snowmobiles and 32 snowcoaches a day entered the park from the December 15 start of winter season to the end of the month. Both numbers are down compared to the same period in 2008 and 2007. The peak day for snowmobiles was December 29 when 284 snowmobiles were in the park. The peak day for snowcoaches was December 27, when there were 56 snowcoaches operating in Yellowstone. Up to 318 snowmobiles and 78 snowcoaches are allowed per day this season.