Statue of Liberty ticket prices
The museums on Liberty and Ellis Islands charge no admission. What you pay for is the ferry, and the NPS fees page sets one price list for it (checked 19 October 2026):
| Ticket | Under 4 | Ages 4–12 | Adult 13+ | Senior 62+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General admission (ferry, both islands, both museums, audio tour) | $0 | $17.00 | $26.00 | $23.00 |
| Add pedestal access | $0 | +$0.30 | +$0.30 | +$0.30 |
| Add crown access | Not allowed | +$0.30 | +$0.30 | +$0.30 |
| Ellis Island Hard Hat tour | Not allowed | Not allowed | +$55 | +$55 |
The pedestal and crown surcharges are tiny, so price is never the reason to settle for general admission. Availability is. Two adults with children aged 8 and 11 pay $86 for general admission and $87.20 with pedestal access.
Ranger tours and the audio tour are included. The Hard Hat tour of the abandoned hospital buildings on Ellis Island's south side is open only to visitors over 13 and is subject to availability.
Which ticket to book
The NPS plan-your-visit page lays out three levels:
- General admission lands you on Liberty Island and Ellis Island, with both museums. You walk around the statue's base but do not enter the monument. It is also the only ticket left once pedestal and crown places sell out.
- Pedestal takes you up to the pedestal observation balcony. The pedestal page counts 215 steps, about 10 storeys, and says there is a lift for people who cannot use the stairs.
- Crown continues 162 steps up a tight spiral from the statue's feet. The crown page says there is no lift to the crown and visits are limited to 10 minutes.
How crown tickets work and how far ahead to book
Neither the NPS nor Statue City Cruises publishes a release window for crown tickets, so there is no official "X months ahead" rule to plan around. What the NPS does say is blunt: crown tickets "must be reserved online in advance", and pedestal and crown tickets must be bought "well in advance" (checked 19 October 2026). Treat that as: book the day you know your date.
The crown has its own rules, all from the NPS crown page:
- Maximum four crown tickets per order, and one crown ticket per person in any six-month period.
- Every ticket holder except minors shows photo ID to collect the tickets and the crown wristbands before boarding.
- Children must be at least 42 inches (1.1 m) tall, cannot be carried and must be with an adult.
- No bags of any kind in the crown. You may carry water in a plastic bottle, a phone, a camera and medicine. Lockers next to the secondary screening building take a 25-cent deposit in quarters; change machines take $1 and $5 bills.
- Check in at the ticket booth at Castle Clinton (New York) or Liberty State Park (New Jersey) before you board.
For pedestal tickets, the pedestal page adds that same-day places are sometimes available at the ticket offices but are "extremely limited", and none are sold on Liberty Island. You can print tickets at home or collect them at either ticket office; the purchaser shows photo ID and the card used to book.
Battery Park or Liberty State Park?
Statue City Cruises runs from two points with the same tickets and the same islands: Castle Clinton in Battery Park, Manhattan, and Liberty State Park, 1 Audrey Zapp Drive, Jersey City. Pick the side you are staying on. Visitors based in Manhattan, Brooklyn or Queens will use The Battery; Liberty State Park suits a stay on the New Jersey side.
Statue City Cruises operates every day except Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, with schedules that vary by season. Its schedule page publishes the departure times as PDFs and warns that entering after 2pm does not leave enough time for both islands. If you want both, take a morning boat.
Security and timing on the day
Every visitor goes through airport-style screening before boarding. The NPS plan-your-visit page makes a point that trips people up: the time on your ticket is when you join the security queue, not a ferry departure. Waits can run an hour or more in summer, at weekends and on holidays.
The pedestal page lists what is refused inside the monument: food and drinks other than water in a clear plastic bottle, backpacks and drawstring bags (including backpack-style purses), suitcases, duffel bags and oversized bags, strollers, laptops, long umbrellas and tripods. If you are coming from a hotel checkout, drop bags first; our guide to luggage storage in New York before check-in compares the options.
Is it worth paying if you only want the view?
If the statue up close and the Ellis Island immigration museum are the point, yes: no other boat lands on either island. If you only want a photo of the statue from the water, the free Staten Island Ferry passes it on the way from Whitehall Terminal at the southern tip of Manhattan, and costs nothing. Getting to The Battery by subway takes one tap of a bank card; see OMNY with a foreign card. If you are back from the islands by early afternoon, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum is also in Lower Manhattan; our guide covers the museum tickets and free hours.