Very Large Array Visitor Center
Formerly Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, VLA
The site's ticket portal shows the Fall Open House 2026 as canceled; regular daily admission is unaffected.
Radio-telescope site in the New Mexico desert with a visitor center, a documentary film and a self-guided walking tour to the base of a dish antenna. Paid daily admission; staff-led tours some days.
Ways to visit
Visitor Center and self-guided walking tour Open
Winter snow or ice can close the VLA to visitors, according to the visit page.
- What you see
- Visitor center, Exhibits, Groundspublic.nrao.edu, 2026-10-26
- How
- Walk inpublic.nrao.edu, 2026-10-26
- When
- MonTueWedThuFriSatSunOpen 7 days a week, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mountain Time; nobody is allowed on site after 4 p.m. without authorization. A ticket is good any time between 9 and 4 on its date. The visit page also lists Christmas Eve and New Year's Day as closure days while the ticket portal does not; see conflicts.Closed: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas DayCalendar ↗public.nrao.edu, 2026-10-26 · nraoepo.ticketapp.org, 2026-10-26
- Booking
- Not stated · onlineThe site encourages buying admission in advance because there is little connectivity at the site. It does not say whether tickets can be bought at the door.Book (nraoepo.ticketapp.org) ↗public.nrao.edu, 2026-10-26
- Cost
- PaidAdults 13 to 64: $10 · Seniors 65+, military and veterans: $8 · Ages 12 and under: freeFree for Socorro and Catron County residents bringing a paying guest. The gift shop has a lunch break from 12:00 to 12:30 and there is no food on site.public.nrao.edu, 2026-10-26
- Requirements
- Fitness and accessibility: No. The walking tour is about half a mile; part of it is paved and usable by wheelchairs and walkers, and part can be reached by vehicle.
- Minimum age: No. Ages 12 and under are admitted free.
Staff-guided VLA tour (on listed dates) Open
Offered only on dates shown in the event calendar; the visit page says 'when available'. No dates are given.
- What you see
- Exhibits, Groundspublic.nrao.edu, 2026-10-26
- How
- Scheduled tourpublic.nrao.edu, 2026-10-26
- When
- Guided tours are given by a staff member when available, on dates shown in the event calendar on the ticket portal. Times are not given.Calendar ↗public.nrao.edu, 2026-10-26
- Booking
- Not stated · onlineIncluded with admission; check the event calendar for dates.Book (nraoepo.ticketapp.org) ↗public.nrao.edu, 2026-10-26
- Cost
- PaidAdults 13 to 64 (admission includes the guided tour): $10 · Seniors 65+, military and veterans: $8No separate tour fee is listed; the guided tour is part of general admission.public.nrao.edu, 2026-10-26
- Requirements
- Fitness and accessibility: No. The walking portion, guided or self-guided, is about half a mile, partly paved.
About
The Very Large Array is a field of radio telescope dishes about 50 miles west of Socorro. The visitor center shows a documentary and exhibits on radio astronomy, and a half-mile outdoor walking tour leads to the base of one antenna. A staff-led tour runs on dates listed on the ticket calendar. The site is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the road in is remote with no mobile coverage nearby. Reserved tours for groups of ten or more also exist and need three weeks' notice.
Run by: National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), a facility of the U.S. National Science Foundation operated by Associated Universities, Inc..
Where official pages disagree
- closures: The visit page lists Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day as closure days (under a sentence that says 'The gift will be closed', probably the gift shop). The ticket portal says the site is closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day only. This listing records the two days both agree on. public.nrao.edu/visit/very-large-array/ · nraoepo.ticketapp.org/portal/pages/visit_us
Getting there
Magdalena, NM
About 50 miles west of Socorro, New Mexico, and a two-hour drive from Albuquerque. Leave US-60 on NM-52, then NM-166; the visitor center is 1.6 miles on the right. Cell and data coverage is poor for several miles around, and a navigation app may route to the NRAO offices in Socorro instead.
The pin marks the site itself, not necessarily the entrance (34.07351, -107.62240). Show on our map · Google Maps · Apple Maps
VLA visitor center: 575-835-7041 · visitVLA@nrao.edu
Last checked 2026-10-26. Sources are listed below.
Sources
- public.nrao.edu/visit/very-large-array/ · official page · read 2026-10-26For: name; location; directions; who runs it; phone and email; Visitor Center and self-guided walking tour: open or closed; Visitor Center and self-guided walking tour: what you see; Visitor Center and self-guided walking tour: kind of visit; Visitor Center and self-guided walking tour: days and hours; Visitor Center and self-guided walking tour: booking; Visitor Center and self-guided walking tour: cost; Visitor Center and self-guided walking tour: requirements; Staff-guided VLA tour (on listed dates): open or closed; Staff-guided VLA tour (on listed dates): what you see; Staff-guided VLA tour (on listed dates): kind of visit; Staff-guided VLA tour (on listed dates): days and hours; Staff-guided VLA tour (on listed dates): booking; Staff-guided VLA tour (on listed dates): cost; Staff-guided VLA tour (on listed dates): requirements
- wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityData/Q4613… · Wikidata · read 2026-10-26For: location
- nraoepo.ticketapp.org/portal/pages/visit_us · official page · read 2026-10-26For: Visitor Center and self-guided walking tour: days and hours
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