How many people visit Carlsbad Caverns?
- 2025 visits
- 410,778
- −10.8% vs 2024
- Rank, 2025
- #46
- of 63 national parks
- Record year
- 1989
- 792,378 visits
- vs 2015
- −7.8%
- ten-year change
- vs 1979
- −43.1%
- since the first full year
- Busiest month ever
- Jul 1988
- 152,161 visits
1979–2025
Every year since the counts began
Show the full table (47 years) ↓
| Year | Recreation visits | Change | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 410,778 | −10.8% | #46 |
| 2024 | 460,474 | +16.8% | #43 |
| 2023 | 394,121 | +0.8% | #45 |
| 2022 | 390,932 | +11.9% | #45 |
| 2021 | 349,244 | +90.0% | #44 |
| 2020 | 183,835 | −58.3% | #45 |
| 2019 | 440,691 | −5.4% | #45 |
| 2018 | 465,912 | −10.4% | #43 |
| 2017 | 520,026 | +11.4% | #40 |
| 2016 | 466,773 | +4.7% | #43 |
| 2015 | 445,720 | +12.2% | #43 |
| 2014 | 397,309 | +2.3% | #44 |
| 2013 | 388,566 | +2.0% | #44 |
| 2012 | 381,058 | +4.4% | #43 |
| 2011 | 365,000 | −14.8% | #44 |
| 2010 | 428,524 | −1.0% | #41 |
| 2009 | 432,639 | +8.1% | #41 |
| 2008 | 400,381 | −2.2% | #42 |
| 2007 | 409,560 | +0.5% | #42 |
| 2006 | 407,367 | −1.6% | #40 |
| 2005 | 413,786 | −1.4% | #39 |
| 2004 | 419,599 | −8.3% | #39 |
| 2003 | 457,631 | −3.9% | #39 |
| 2002 | 476,259 | +4.5% | #37 |
| 2001 | 455,621 | −2.9% | #39 |
| 2000 | 469,303 | −8.8% | #36 |
| 1999 | 514,418 | −1.5% | #36 |
| 1998 | 522,076 | −3.5% | #37 |
| 1997 | 540,797 | −2.9% | #35 |
| 1996 | 557,217 | −5.3% | #34 |
| 1995 | 588,609 | −4.6% | #35 |
| 1994 | 617,087 | −10.2% | #34 |
| 1993 | 687,161 | −0.2% | #31 |
| 1992 | 688,742 | +1.4% | #32 |
| 1991 | 679,450 | −9.0% | #31 |
| 1990 | 747,016 | −5.7% | #27 |
| 1989 | 792,378 | +0.8% | #27 |
| 1988 | 786,135 | +0.6% | #28 |
| 1987 | 781,300 | +3.8% | #26 |
| 1986 | 752,552 | +2.7% | #26 |
| 1985 | 732,482 | +2.7% | #24 |
| 1984 | 712,989 | +0.1% | #24 |
| 1983 | 712,247 | −8.9% | #24 |
| 1982 | 781,963 | +1.3% | #22 |
| 1981 | 771,766 | +14.7% | #22 |
| 1980 | 672,963 | −6.7% | #24 |
| 1979 | 721,647 | — | #22 |
By decade
The long view
- 1970s
- 721,647
- avg · 1 yr
- 1980s
- 749,678
- avg · 10 yrs
- 1990s
- 614,257
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2000s
- 434,215
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2010s
- 429,958
- avg · 10 yrs
- 2020s
- 364,897
- avg · 6 yrs
Seasonality: in 1979–1983 the three busiest months carried 50% of the year’s visits; in 2021–2025 they carried 36% — visits have spread out across the year.
Average visits by month
2021–2025 · NPS IRMAQuietest: JanuaryBusiest: July
The weather page puts these crowd levels beside each month’s temperatures.
About these numbers
Figures are the National Park Service’s monthly recreation-visit counts, retrieved from its public statistics service and summed by calendar year. A year is shown only when all twelve months were reported. The NPS revises recent months occasionally, so small differences from a later nps.gov table are normal. Rankings compare the 63 national parks for the same year. See every park ranked for 2025.
Sources · 2
- 1.NPS Visitor Use Statistics — monthly recreation visits by park, 1979–2025 · National Park Service (U.S. Department of the Interior)
- 2.NPS Visitor Use Statistics Definitions · National Park Service
FAQ
Carlsbad Caverns visitor questions
- How many people visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park each year?
- 410,778 recreation visits in 2025, ranking #46 of the 63 national parks. The 2010s averaged 429,958 a year.
- What was Carlsbad Caverns's busiest year?
- 1989, with 792,378 recreation visits — +92.9% more than 2025. The single busiest month on record was July 1988 (152,161 visits).
- Is Carlsbad Caverns getting more crowded?
- 2025 visits were −7.8% compared with 2015 and −0.7% compared with 2005. The low point of recent years was 2020 (183,835).
- What counts as a recreation visit?
- The NPS counts a recreation visit as one person entering the park for recreation; someone who leaves and re-enters is counted again, and commuters, through-traffic and staff are excluded. Counts come from gate and traffic counters with park-specific multipliers, so they are estimates.
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