Visitors walk up the trail through the Ancestral Pueblo homes in Frijoles Canyon. Courtesy/NPSBNM News:
Starting Jan. 1, 2016, Bandelier National Monument will increase entrance fees for visitors in order to fund important maintenance and improvement projects within the park.
New fees will be:
- Vehicle pass (7 days): $20
- Individual/bike (7 days): $10
- Motorcycle (7 days): $15
- Annual entry pass to Bandelier: $40
Camping fees at Bandelier will remain unchanged at $12 per night. All interagency passes (Senior, Military, Access, Every Kid In A Park, and Volunteer), will continue to be honored.
The cost of Interagency Senior and Interagency Annual Passes remain the same.
“Fees at Bandelier and most other National Park Service (NPS) areas that collect fees have not been updated since 2006. Park costs continue to rise, and comments we received during a formal public comment period were supportive of the proposed new fee structure,” Bandelier Superintendent Jason Lott said. “After careful consideration, and with the support of those public comments, we came to the conclusion that this is the right approach to improve facilities and services important to visitors. We particularly want to spruce things up as we approach 2016, the centennial of Bandelier and also the National Park Service”
Entrance fees support a wide range of projects that maintain park facilities, preserve park resources, and improve visitor experience and safety.
At Bandelier, these include:
- Improvements in the campgrounds
- Improving communications and signage
- Maintaining, supporting, and improving the shuttle bus program
- Continuing and improving existing park programs and events, including Opera on the Rocks, the annual Naturalization Ceremony, cultural demonstrations, the Night Sky Fiesta and other night sky programs, Fall Fiesta, Artist-in-Residence, Wilderness ranger, and programs at Tsankawi
- Updating/Upgrading exhibits, waysides, kiosks, apps, technological improvements, and publications
Passes purchased before Jan. 1, 2015, will continue to be valid until their expiration date.
For more information about Bandelier National Monument, check the park website, www.nps.gov/band; Facebook page, BandelierNPS; and Twitter, BandelierNPS.
A visitor pays the park entrance fee at Bandelier. Courtesy/NPS