We’re very pleased to announce that Carlsbad Caverns National Park has increased the number of daily visitors allowed from 1,000 to 1,750. 

The Caverns has been limiting its daily visitation due to COVID-19 precautions. This, unfortunately, was causing problems. Families, eager to take the first summer vacation in two years, were driving here from other states and not getting to see our underground park, which understandably resulted in some very unhappy families. An online reservation problem resolved some issues, but created others. Recently, Carlsbad City Council passed a resolution asking for a more accommodating visitation plan. As a recent article in the Carlsbad Current Argus pointed out, the Caverns – as well as other parks and wilderness areas, bring millions of tourism dollars to our area every year. 

Thank you to Carlsbad Caverns National Park for working to address this concern with limited visitation. This recent increase in the number of visits per day will certainly help resolve the issue, but we hope the cap will be fully removed in the near future. There’s a large renewed interest in nature that presents a great opportunity for our nation’s tourism industry. Guadalupe Mountains National Park was also recently featured in a national article about some of our country’s undiscovered gems. 

Thank you as well to Chamber Director Chad Ingram and members of City Council for their hard work with addressing this issue. If you personally know of anyone who wasn’t able to visit some of our area’s attractions due to COVID-19 restrictions, please encourage them to come back and we’ll help make their trip extra special. 

From the office of Mayor Dale Janway