Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM

Carlsbad Caverns National Park is located approximately an hour from the Carlsbad KOA.  We arrived about 30 minutes after the park opened and avoided the crowds. In talking to the Rangers, the crowds are very heavy around Holiday Weekends and during the summer. Also, on the website, it shows additional tours that are available, but we were advised that you can see the best parts of the Caverns on the self-guided tour. Charge is $10/person for adults. Children under 15 are free.

There are two entrances to the Caverns – the Natural Entrance and the Elevator. The Natural Entrance offers some spectacular sights, but also some steep inclines and takes approximately an hour to walk. Once you descend 750 feet, you enter the “Big Room”. The name doesn’t do it justice. The path and lighting are an exceptional way to wind through the room with its great variety of formations from the very small to the extremely large. It allows you to see many of the formations from different angles.

It takes approximately 1-1/2 hours to 2 hours to walk to the path in the Big Room. There are benches along the way and also paths that take you more directly to the area with the elevator.

If you opt to take the elevator down into the Caverns, you arrive in the Cafe and it is only a short walk to the “Big Room”.

If you choose to come in through the Natural Entrance, most people decide to take the elevator back to the surface.

Another wonder of the Caverns is the nightly bat flight that leaves through the Natural Entrance. The Brazilian free-tailed bats make a nightly exodus from the Caverns April through mid-to-late October. The bats had already migrated at the time of our visit, but we plan to come back during the summer to attend this.

Be sure to check the National Parks website for rules and requirements regarding entrance to the Caverns. Also, it is very cool in the Caverns year around, so long pants and a jacket or sweatshirt should be worn.

Finally, if you have been in another cave and are wearing the same clothing or shoes, be sure to let the rangers know. They will ask that you wipe down the item with wipes that they will provide to you and mark your ticket. This helps prevent the spread of White-Nose Syndrome that is harmful to the bats.