280 hats, 36 sunglasses: Record-breaking 20,00 pieces of trash haul from Yellowstone National Park this year so far

280 hats recovered so far in 2026 from hydrothermal areas of Yellowstone National Park. (National Park Service photo by Margery Price, September 2026) Yellowstone National Park's geology team has pulled a record-setting amount of debris from the park's fragile hydrothermal features so far in 2026, according to a report from the US Geological Survey's Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.The numbersAs of early September, crews had removed more than 20,100 pieces of paper and plastic trash, 5,600 rocks and sticks, and over 280 hats from hydrothermal areas such as the Old Faithful geyser. This marks a roughly 50 percent jump from the prior year.The surge in litter tracks with a busy tourist season: more than 2.64 million people visited Yellowstone between January and July 2026, nearly matching the park's most-visited year in 2021. Park staff noted that heavier foot traffic in the wide-open geyser basins with narrow boardwalks tends to generate more debris.What tourists leave behindYellowstone National Park's trash haulCamera covers, sunglasses, hair ties.Other titbits left by tourists.Beyond the hats, the most frequently recovered items included camera lens caps (54), hair ties (47), pacif...