Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Permit Information

NPS Special Use Permit required for weddings, vow renewals, and any activity beyond standard visitation. Carlsbad Caverns does not allow wedding ceremonies inside the cave. Above ground ceremonies are permitted in the amphitheater at the Carlsbad Cavern natural entrance, maximum 20 people in the wedding party. $100 non refundable application fee via NPS Form 10 930. No music of any kind, instrumental or vocal, is allowed. Ceremony must occur within normal operating hours. Minimal or no decorati…

Planning Your Day at Carlsbad Caverns National Park

One-Spot Day

Carlsbad Caverns does not allow wedding ceremonies inside the cave; this is a hard rule. The single approved ceremony location is the amphitheater at the Carlsbad Cavern natural entrance (above ground, where 400,000 Mexican free tailed bats emerge at sunset May through October and where the cave's massive opening descends 750 feet into the earth). Maximum 20 people in the wedding party per park policy. $100 non refundable application fee. Strict rules apply: no music of any kind (instrumental or vocal), minimal or no decorative props, ceremony must occur within normal operating hours, attendees entering the cave must pay regular user fees. A one spot day works well: ceremony at the amphitheater, then descend into the Big Room via elevator or the Natural Entrance trail for portraits inside the cave (under standard cave tour rules, no ceremony in the cave). The cave is 56 degrees F year round, so layers are essential for the tour. The visitor center has restrooms, water, and a gift shop.

Ceremony + Portraits Split

Above ground ceremonies at the Natural Entrance or Bat Flight Amphitheater may be permitted on a case by case basis under an NPS Special Use Permit. Submit NPS Form 10 930 at least 60 days in advance, ideally 90+ days during peak season. Contact the Chief Ranger's office at 575 785 2232 for current availability and fees (the application fee is non refundable; cost recovery for monitoring may apply). The Bat Flight Amphitheater is the signature pick if your date falls between late May and October when the bats are present (the cave is empty of bats November through April when they migrate to Mexico). Time ceremony so vows complete before the ranger bat flight program begins (typically starting 30 minutes before sunset); bats start emerging at dusk and the ranger requires silence during the program. No music of any kind, instrumental or vocal, is allowed per park policy. Decorations must be freestanding and removed immediately. No flash photography during the bat flight (it disorients the colony). Minimal or no decorative props permitted.

A Note on Light

The Natural Entrance is east facing and gets first light directly into the cave mouth at sunrise (the photographic signature here is the morning light spilling down into the throat of the cave with the desert ridge above silhouetted). The Bat Flight Amphitheater faces the cave entrance to the east, so sunset light is behind you and falls on the cave mouth as the bats emerge (the bats themselves are dark silhouettes spiraling against the warm sky). Plan ceremony for the hour before sunset to land vows in golden light, with the bat flight as a once in a lifetime conclusion. The desert above the cave catches dramatic side light at both sunrise and sunset; portrait sessions on the surface paths around the visitor center work best in the first hour after sunrise or the last hour before sunset. Avoid midday: the cave entrance is in deep shadow and the desert above goes flat. Bortle 2 dark skies make this a Milky Way astrophotography destination after the bat flight ends.

Ceremony Spots at Carlsbad Caverns National Park

• Natural Entrance — Ceremony at the mouth of a massive cave opening where the underground world meets the desert sky
• Bat Flight Amphitheater — Sunset ceremony in a stone amphitheater with the spectacle of 400,000 bats spiraling out of the cave at dusk