Yellowstone National Park recorded its second busiest year in 2017, lagging just behind the record set the year before. 

The park counted a grand total of 4,116,524 visits for 2017, the third consecutive year that the number topped 4 million. The visitation record in 2016 was set at 4.25 million visits. 

Topping 4 million is a relatively new phenomenon for Yellowstone, and one that seems to be here to stay. In a news release, the park said visitation has increased by 40 percent over the last decade, and that managers are trying to grapple with the increased number of people.

Two studies on visitor behavior were released last year and park officials plan to gather more information like that in the next couple of years. 

“These studies mark the beginning of our efforts to understand visitation and develop strategies to meet the challenges it presents,” said Dan Wenk, the park’s superintendent. “In 2018 and 2019, we intend to gather more information in order to make informed decisions about visitation.” 

Most months of 2017 lagged behind their 2016 counterparts, but this past December was the busiest in more than a decade. Park statisticians counted 21,294 visits for the month, the highest total for the month since 2001. 

The month’s total in 2001 was more than 27,000, and it marked the end of a four-year streak in which upward of 25,000 people passed through the park’s gates in December.