Fee Waiver Information

National Park Service regulations allow school groups and other approved national and international academic institutions to obtain a waiver of tour fees, provided the visit is for educational or scientific purposes, and the resources or facilities that the group intends to use support those purposes.

Fee waivers may be granted to educational institutions whose curriculum relates specifically to the resources at Wind Cave National Park. See below for how to apply. All applications must be received within three weeks prior to anticipated trip. Please be aware:

• Academic fee waivers do not include camping or other activity fees.
• Academic fee waivers cannot be granted for hardship factors.
• Service, civic, or fraternal organizations, such as Scouting, Rotary, and Elks, do not quality for an academic fee waiver unless the group meets the criteria above.
• "Blanket" academic fee waivers for all national parks are not issued or accepted. Groups must submit separate requests to individual parks for approval.

Fee Waiver Criteria

Academic fee waivers are not granted automatically. Applicant groups must demonstrate that they qualify for the waiver. There are three requirements that the group must meet to qualify for an academic fee waiver: eligibility, educational purpose, and relevancy of park resources or facilities.

1. Eligibility
Fees may be waived for educational and scientific institiutions that are using the park for educational purposes.

2. Educational Purpose of the Visit
Each group must provide a written statement defining the educational objectives of the trip to the cave confirming that the visit supports a specific curriculum.

3. Relevance of Park Resources or Facilities
Applicants must provide a written statement identifying the park resources and/or facilities that will be used to support the educational purpose of the visit, and how they are relevant to that purpose.

Home Schools

Home schools may be granted fee waivers based on the course of study following the procedures above, as long as they meet your state requirements for home schools. A copy of your state's department of education requirements may be requested.

Fee Waiver Application

In order for the park to grant an educational fee waiver, applicants are required to complete a fee waiver application providing the educational objectives on the subject that has been or will be taught. The educational objectives must show the relationship between the purpose of your visit and your curriculum. You might consider topics such as rocks and minerals, cave features, cave forming processes, local history, or other cave related subjects. The content of educational objectives will be used to determine fee waiver eligibility. The National Park Service is not authorized to waive fees for recreational visits. Lack of, or insufficiently prepared documentation, may result in your application being denied.

To request a tour or to apply for an educational fee waiver please use the online form below or contact the park at 605-745-1132.

How to Apply

Most groups are reserved on a Natural Entrance Cave Tour which is limited to 40 people. To avoid overbooking tours, a reservation for a cave tour must be established before groups may apply for a fee waiver. To make a reservation please contact the park at 605-745-1132. All reservations are made on a first-come, first-served basis.

When choosing a tour time, remember that we require all groups arrive at the park visitor center at least half an hour before the tours begin. These tours are scheduled and you may be sharing the tour with others. It will begin on time and cannot be changed to accommodate your needs.

Please bring one chaperone for every ten students. Choose your chaperones carefully; many of the tours are moderately to very strenuous.

Groups that do not qualify for an academic fee waiver will be charged the appropriate tour fee. The fees can be viewed on our Fees & Passes page.

 

Field Trip Reservation Form

Wind Cave National Park does not have an entrance fee. However, fees are charged for cave tours for anyone six years old and older. School groups wanting to apply for a fee waiver must complete the fee waiver section of this form.

NPS Form 10-1750 (Rev. 04/2021)
National Park Service

OMB Control No. 1024-0228
Expiration Date 11/30/2025

Learning Accommodations

Does anyone in your group need any accommodations?

Yes No

If yes, describe the accommodation need.

Next Step

School / Organization Contact Information

School / Organization Name (required)

Name of Requester/Contact Person (required)

Title / Position (required)

Contact Email Address (required)

Contact Phone Number (required)
123-456-7890 extension if any

Mailing Address (required)

City (required)

State (required)

Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas Armed Forces - Americas Armed Forces - Europe Armed Forces - Pacific California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

ZIP (required)
Five digit ZIP code [99999]

Next Step

Group Details - Park Visit/ Field Trip

Name of Primary Contact Visiting if Different Than Above (optional)

Title / Position of Primary Contact if Different Than Above (optional)

Email Address of Primary Contact if Different Than Above (optional)

Phone Number of Primary Contact if Different Than Above (optional)
Format: 123-456-7890

Program Name or Subject Requested/Self-Guided

Grade Level(s) of Students (required)

Number of Staff / Chaperones (required)

Number of Students (required)

Preferred Date of Visit (required)
format mmddyyyy

My preferred date has been confirmed by the park (required)

Yes No

Preferred Program Start Time (required)

Alternative Date(s) (required)
Enter one or more dates .

Anticipated Arrival Time (required)

Anticipated Departure Time (required)

Mode of Transportation (required)

Disclaimer:

A park representative will follow-up to confirm group details once this request has been received and reviewed.

Next Step

Academic Fee Waiver

Visitors 16 years of age or older (including students, chaperones, and teachers) must pay an entrance fee at this site. Academic institutions (including schools) may apply for an academic fee waiver to cover the cost of these visitors. The number of teachers/chaperones that are covered with a waiver varies depending on the size of the group.

Would you like to request an academic fee waiver for your group?

Yes. I need to complete the fee waiver application. No I do not need a fee waiver.

For this section, all of the criteria fields and the acknowledgement checkbox are required for the waiver.

Certification

Academic fee waivers are not granted automatically. Applicant groups must show they qualify for the waiver. There are three criteria the group must meet to qualify for an academic fee waiver: eligibility, relevance of park resources or facilities to academic program, and academic purpose. Details of these qualifications are listed below. If your institution and purpose meet these criteria, submit this form.

Criterion One - Eligibility

Describe and/or attach current official recognition or accreditation as an educational institution by a federal, state, or local government or other documentation attesting to educational status, such as an accreditation letter, educational tax-exempt letter.

Attach Supporting Document for Eligibility (if needed). Acceptable document types: are Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word, and Google Doc

Criterion Two - Educational Purpose

Verify how this visit supports a specific curriculum for which academic credit is offered. For example, attach a course syllabus/description, course catalog, lesson plan, letter detailing the educational purpose, etc., and/or describe.

Attach Supporting Document for Educational Purpose (if needed). Acceptable document types: are Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word and Google Doc

Criterion Three - Relevance of Park Resources or Facilities

Identify the pertinent park resources and/or facilities and detail how they are relevant to support the educational purpose of the visit (attach letter or describe).

Attach Supporting Document for Relevance (if needed). Acceptable document types: are Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word and Google Doc

Authorized School / Organization Contact Name (required)

Title / Position

Acknowledgement (required)

The Recreation Fee Authority (16 USC 6802 Sections 3 a and b) allows for fee waivers only for bona fide educational and/or scientific institutions that are using the park for educational purposes. I hereby certify that the above detailed trip meets these requirements and therefore request that fees be waived.

Current official documentation of recognition of affiliation as an educational institution by a Federal, State or local government entity, or other evidence attesting to educational status is attached (e.g. accreditation letter, educational tax-exempt letter). It is insufficient to merely state or imply this on official letterhead.

By checking this box I acknowledge that I have read the Acknowledgement.

Date of Acknowledgement (required)
format mmddyyyy

Submit my Education Reservation Request

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NPS Form 10-1750 (Rev. 04/2021)
National Park Service

OMB Control No. 1024-0228
Expiration Date 11/31/2025

Notices

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: Public Law 114-289 National Park Service Centennial Act and 54 U.S.C. 100701 Protection, interpretation, and research in System.

Purpose: To administer education programs for education audiences including but not limited to school groups, scouting groups, extracurricular groups, and home school groups.

Routine Uses: To effectively manage requests for education received by the NPS, the Education Reservation Request Form is used to collect basic education reservation information to facilitate operational aspects of scheduling groups for park education programs, including in-park education programs, ranger in classroom programs, and/or online distance learning programs.

Disclosure: Voluntary, however, failure to provide the requested information may impede the ability to grant your education reservation request.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

We are collecting this information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501) to provide park managers and educators the information needed to schedule and conduct education program activities. All applicable parts of the form must be completed in order for your request to be considered. You are not required to respond to this or any other Federal agency-sponsored information collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. OMB has approved this collection of information and assigned control number 1024-0288.

Estimated Burden Statement

Public reporting for this collection of information is estimated to average 5 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Park Service, 1201 Oakridge Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80525. Do not send your completed form to this address.