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Yellowstone’s September beat last year by 3%, even with the year still running slightly behind. Now Montana short-term rental owners are about to open their first tax bills under the new second-home rate: 1.90% of market value counted as taxable, up from 0.76% on the first $400,000 last year. And an Idaho RV park is asking $12.5 million, about $99,200 a site.
MARKET INTEL
Yellowstone’s shoulder season held up
Yellowstone recorded 868,450 recreation visits in September 2026, up 3% from 839,579 in September 2025, according to the park’s October 6 release. That’s still 2% below September 2021 (882,078), which the park calls “the busiest September on record.”
The full year is roughly flat. Through September, Yellowstone has logged 4,360,300 visits, down 1% from 2025 and down 3% from 2021.
The operator takeaway: a slightly softer year, but September came in stronger than last year. If you run lodging or campsites near the park, compare your September occupancy to the park’s +3%. Doing better or worse than the park’s traffic tells you more about your pricing and marketing than about demand.
OPERATOR PLAYBOOK
Montana’s first tax bills at the second-home rate are on the way
Montana’s 2026 property tax bills are the first under the new split between primary homes and everything else, created by SB 542 and HB 231 in the 2025 session. Montana Free Press reported that the second-home side “won’t be implemented until 2026 tax bills.”
First, what the rates mean. Montana’s rates don’t set your tax directly. They set your taxable value, and local mill levies are applied to that. Montana State University’s explainer puts it this way: tax owed = market value × rate × (mills ÷ 1,000).
The 2026 rates from the Montana Department of Revenue:
Short-term rentals, second homes, and vacant residential lots: a flat 1.90%. The department lists short-term rentals as “VRBOs, Airbnbs, cabins.”
Primary residences and qualifying long-term rentals: 0.76% on the first $378,000, 0.90% up to $756,000, 1.10% up to $1,511,999, and 1.90% above that.
For comparison, the interim 2025 rates applied the same way to every home: 0.76% up to $400,000, 1.10% up to $1.5 million, and 2.20% above. So a short-term rental under $400,000 goes from 0.76% to 1.90%. On the portion of value above $1.5 million, the rate drops from 2.20% to 1.90%. Your actual bill also depends on your local mill levy, which can change from year to year.
Three things to do now:
Check your classification when the bill arrives. Your STR should be at 1.90%. If your own home shows up at 1.90%, contact your county right away.
Budget for the first half. In Flathead County, real property bills go out in October, with the first half due November 30 and the second half May 31. Confirm the dates with your own county treasurer.
Rerun your numbers. If you underwrote a Montana STR on last year’s taxes, update the property tax line before you set next season’s rates.
DEAL SPOTLIGHT
What an institutional RV park costs in Idaho: $99,200 a site
Center Point RV Park at 1530 Ann St in Nampa, Idaho, is listed at $12.5 million. It has 126 sites on 7.61 acres: 114 back-in and 12 pull-through, each 50 to 75 feet long. That works out to about $99,200 per site. Lincoln Hagood of Colliers is the listing broker, and the listing was updated October 12.
The listing calls it “a premier, institutional-quality RV community,” with newer construction and on-site management. The sales pitch rests on long-term tenants, with the listing citing “consistent cash flow” and “reduced turnover risk.” An industry listings newsletter, RV Listing’s Rundown, reported a 6.78% cap rate in August.
How it compares with other regional listings reported by RV Listing’s Rundown on August 20 (all asking prices, not closed sales):
Mountain Meadow RV Park & Cabins, Hungry Horse, MT: 64 sites, $7.0 million (about $109,375/site), 6.03% cap rate
The Sawmill Station, Clayton, ID: 54 sites, $2.8 million (about $51,852/site), 8.32% cap rate
Wolf Lodge Campground, Coeur d’Alene, ID: $3.0 million on 12.28 acres, 9.96% cap rate
The pattern: parks near major destinations or growing metros ask about $100,000+ per site at cap rates in the 6% range. Remote parks are listed at half that per site with cap rates of 8% to 10%, which means buyers are getting paid more for taking on seasonal, nightly-stay risk.
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The ice cream shop that makes money when it's cold
28 Wishes sells ice cream in Los Angeles. Below 70°F, sales fall about 20%. The weather is out of their hands. Rent isn't.
So the owners started putting about $20 a day into Kalshi weather markets, taking the cold side. The days that keep customers away now pay something back.
This is hedging. Big companies have done it for decades, buying protection against bad weather, fuel spikes and rising rates. It used to take a broker, a trading desk, and an order size no corner shop could meet.
Kalshi opens it up. Contracts on weather, fuel prices, inflation, tariffs and regulation, starting at a few dollars. Take a position on the outcome that would hurt you. If it hits, the payout softens it. If it doesn't, the contract expires and the good month was the point.