Glistening with the first spring green in the river valleys and snowcaps in high country, the crown jewel of the region's tourism industry is a beacon of hope in a gloomy year. Yellowstone National Park beckoned 20 percent more visitors last month than it did in May 2008. They came despite the worst recession that most Americans can remember.

More than 260,000 people visited Yellowstone in May, according to the National Park Service. May is always a much quieter month than the summer and early fall, but it may be a harbinger of a better-than-expected 2009 season. The surge in May visits could be an indicator that many Americans see the economic gloom lifting. Consider:

• Yellowstone logged 43,825 more visitors last month than in the same month of 2008.

• Visitor numbers were up at each of the park's five entrances, including 3,000 more from Gardiner, 6,600 more from West Yellowstone, 8,000 more from the south entrance, 5,800 more from the east entrance and 10,000 more from Cooke City.

• Fewer bus tours were tallied last month, but the number of automobiles entering the park was up 24 percent and the number of RVs entering Yellowstone increased a whopping 41 percent.

Those numbers indicate that good weather and the desire to enjoy America's first national park can be more important factors in visitation than the economic downturn. The fact that fuel prices remain below last year's dizzying highs also may have positively influenced May visitors.

May brought so many more people to Yellowstone that it more than offset declining visitor numbers seen January through April. May is also the first month that most park roads are open for automobile travel. June is the month that the park boasts carpets of brilliant wildflowers, bison drop their calves and rivers run high with melting snow.

As a National Park Service news release pointed out, admission to Yellowstone is still a bargain: $25 per vehicle for a week's admission to both Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks. Bargain-hunters will get an even better deal if they take a Father's Day weekend trip to the park. Admission to Yellowstone will be free June 20-21.

It's early in the tourism year, but so far, 2009 is shaping up to be a good year for the park and the multitude of Montanans and Wyomingites whose livelihood and community economies are linked to the Yellowstone allure.