Carlsbad Caverns to increase entrance fee to $15

Entrance fees at Carlsbad Caverns National Park will increase starting in 2019.

Entrance to Carlsbad Caverns will cost $15 per person, ages 16 and older, and will remain free for 15 and younger. The entrance fee increase will be effective starting January 1 and the current fee of $12 will remain for the rest of this year.

“Entrance fees help us protect the cavern and provide quality visitor services and experiences for our visitors,” Carlsbad Caverns Superintendent Doug Neighbor said. “For example, fees funded the current project to modernize our primary elevators.”

The additional revenue will be used to update and replace 60 Carlsbad Caverns exhibits that are more than 40 years old along the park and inside the cavern, according to park officials.

At Carlsbad Caverns, at least 80 percent of entrance fees stay within the park and are devoted to spending for the park.

In 2018, entrance fee at the park increased from $10 to $12.