These unique, guided tours take participants “behind the fence” into secure areas not generally accessible to the public. Tours on Lab property are limited due to the secure nature of Los Alamos National Laboratory, but a series of tours are offered twice a year with advanced registration. Each tour lasts approximately four hours and there are two tours per day with a maximum of 30 participants on each.
On these tours you will see the Pond Cabin, which served as an office for Emilio Segrè’s Radioactivity Group studying plutonium; a battleship bunker used to protect equipment and staff during implosion design explosives testing; and the Slotin Building, site of Louis Slotin’s criticality accident.
Please see the upcoming tour dates below along with requirements for participation. The most current information about the tours will always appear on this webpage. Please check back or bookmark this page for any updates.
Registration for the October 2024 Behind the Fence tours is now closed. All lottery entrants will receive notice no later than September 10th. Please check back for information on our 2025 schedule. Thank you for your interest and we hope to see you on a future tour.
Safety and security are vital at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Your eligibility to visit a national security site will be verified after you register.
To learn more about Manhattan Project history in the Los Alamos area, visit our Plan your visit page.
Requirements
Tour participants:
- Must be U.S. citizens with original documentation, including an original birth certificate, passport, tribal identification, or other qualified document;
- Must be at least 18 years of age;
- Must be able to walk short distances, stand for 30 minutes, climb stairs, and traverse over uneven surfaces;
- Must wear sturdy footwear and long pants;
- Are not allowed to bring cell phones, cameras, Bluetooth devices, or recording devices of any kind onto the site;
- Must follow all other requirements listed in the registration process.