Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM
Hidden beneath the surface of the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico lies one of the greatest natural wonders of the world, Carlsbad Caverns.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park showcases over 119 limestone caves throughout more than 46,000 acres in Southeast New Mexico. The main attraction in this cave system is Carlsbad Cavern and it alone extends over 30 miles and contains the largest single cave chamber by volume in North America!
Carlsbad Caverns is a top cave to visit in the United States and we highly recommend this experience!
The Natural Entrance Trail
Why You Should Walk This Trail
Follow in the footsteps of the early explorers as you journey into the depths of Carlsbad Caverns on the Natural Entrance Trail. This 1.25 mile trail begins near the visitor center and takes approximately 1 hour to complete. On this trail you will steeply descend 750 feet down into the Earth to meet up with the Big Room Trail at the heart of Carlsbad Caverns.
The Natural Entrance Trail is the perfect beginning to any Carlsbad Caverns Adventure!
This trail allows you to watch the world slowly change from a hot, dry and dusty desert to a cool, wet and unreal cavern filled with spectacular formations.
What We Loved On This Trail
Our family really loved entering into Carlsbad Caverns on this self guided trail. By walking the Natural Entrance Trail, it gave us an incredible hour to walk deeper and deeper into the Earth and really notice the changes that were occurring all around us.
We noticed the swallows living in nests at the edge of the entrance flying in and out. At first we thought that they were the bats that Carlsbad is famous for but quickly we realized that it was just birds who had found a clever place to raise their young. We noticed the heat of the summer sun fade away and a coolness begin to overtake. And with every step and every curve of the trail we noticed how the world became darker and darker as we continued to walk deeper and deeper into the Earth.
The Natural Entrance Trail is great at increasing your anticipation for what is to come. This trail also creates a great teaching opportunity for families to discuss the changes that you feel and experience as you descend down into the entirely different world that lies under the ground.
Helpful Hints
This trail is extremely steep, and in some places slightly wet. If any individual in your travel party has difficulty walking or you are short on time, there is an alternative entrance into this cave through an elevator.
A light jacket is also recommended, even when its 100 degrees outside, because this cavern remains a constant 56 degree temperature throughout the year. Closed toe shoes with good traction are also recommended for these cavern trails.
We highly recommend walking down into Carlsbad Caverns through the Natural Entrance Trail. Walking down this trail into the caverns will build up your excitement to see the Big Room and will let you truly appreciate just how far down this cavern really is. It is also much easier to walk this trail going down than trying to hike this trail back out. After you complete the Natural Entrance Trail you will be ready to hike the Big Room Trail and then you can return back up to the surface by using the elevator.
Distance: 1.25 miles (descends 750 feet)
Duration: ~1 hour
The Big Room
Why You Should Walk This Trail
The Big Room is the largest single cave chamber by volume in North America! This impressive room alone is 8.2 acres! This is approximately the size of 6 Football Fields!! The Big Room Trail is the most popular trail in this park and if you only have time to do one thing at Carlsbad Caverns then this is it!
What We Loved On This Trail
The Big Room Trail in Carlsbad Caverns is spectacular! Its sheer size is hard to comprehend, and you’re underground! This room is so big that it is often referred to as the Grand Canyon with a Roof!
We Loved being able to walk on this trail at our own pace and just gaze in wonder at the size of this cavern and at all of its impressive formations.
Here are some great pictures that my husband took of the spectacular formations we saw in the Big Room.
Helpful Tips for Families
Big Room Trail is a relatively flat 1.25 mile trail that guides you around this enormous cavern. This trail takes approximately 1-2 hours to explore. If you are short on time, have difficulty walking or have extremely young children that can’t walk far (no strollers are allowed), there is a shorter loop available. This loop reduces the walking distance to 0.6 miles with a hiking time of about 45 minutes. Big Room Trail can also be easily accessed by the elevator.
One great piece of information to know is that at the bottom of this cave, right near the elevators, are modern bathrooms! I thought this alone was pretty incredible! Here you’ll also find water fountains and a place to grab a snack before or after you walk the Big Room Trail.
Another tip that’s great for families is to try and come up with a couple of quiet games that you can play with your child if they start to lose interest. A game like I spy or pretending that you’re the first explorers to find this cave is great to play and can quickly turn a fidgety child into one full of smiles. Having these ideas in your back pocket won’t hurt and could make your family’s experience much more enjoyable.
Another tip that I use all the time is to make sure that I give my kids a snack right before we start on an adventure like this. There is nothing worse than the constant “I’m hungry” complaint while you’re trying to enjoy something incredible.
Need Snack Ideas for Before You Explore?
Check out our 15 Favorite Snacks for Hiking and Traveling with Kids!
Distance: 1.25 miles
Duration: 1-2 hours
Increase Your Children’s Excitement to Visit a Cave!
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Our Family loves books by Gail Gibbons and this book is no exception. She does an incredible job explaining science and nature at an elementary school child’s level. This book helps children learn about how a cave is formed and what they might expect on your vacation adventure to Carlsbad Caverns. This book is a great way to get your kids excited to go and explore Carlsbad Caverns! Best for ages 6-9 years.
This book is filled with beautiful photographs and wonderful information for children to learn about caves before visiting.
Best for Ages 8-12 years.
Bat Flight Program
Why You Should Go
Each night from April through October approximately 400,000 Brazilian free-tailed bats swarm out of the Natural Entrance of Carlsbad Caverns at sunset to search for food.
This is an incredible sight and one that should not be missed!
What We Loved
We absolutely loved the opportunity to watch these bats appear out of the cave that we were just in! It was hard to believe that we had not seen or heard a single one while we were inside the cave? Yes, Carlsbad Caverns is that big!
We also loved how this was an incredible opportunity to teach our children all about bats and how they live. At the free ranger led program, that starts before the bats begin to emerge, we learned all about the different species of bats that live in this cave, what they ate, how they use echolocation to find food and so much more. The rangers will eagerly answer any questions but once the bats begin to emerge silence is requested in order to not disturb the bats’ activity. This free program does not need reservations and occurs nightly from late May – October at the amphitheater in front of the Natural Entrance.
We were also seriously impressed with the bat’s clockwork schedule. It’s crazy to think that a group of bats deep within a cave would have any idea as to when the sun was setting and know when they should go out to hunt for their insect dinner! I found this fascinating!
But most of all we loved the amazing show that the bats put on! Slowly the bats began to trickle out and circle like in a dance before they headed off to find food. After a few short minutes the bats numbers seemed to grow exponentially as the amazing mass exodus began! Soon their numbers became so great flying over our heads that it was hard to comprehend.
For twenty minutes straight thousands and thousands of bats continuously left Carlsbad Caverns, leaving everyone watching in complete awe at this spectacular sight!
Helpful Tips
No photography is allowed during the Bat Flight Program or in the surrounding area. They are serious about this so just go and enjoy the show.
According to their website the best time to see the bat flight is in August and September when the baby bats join in the flight. Yet, we went in July and thought that the bats put on a spectacular show.
You can also come see the bats reenter the cave from approximately 4-6 am if you are an early riser. Here the bats will perform spectacular dives from hundreds of feet as they head back into the cave. Individual bats may even reach speeds of 25 mph!
Get Kids Excited to See Carlsbad’s Bats Fly!
Bats by Gail Gibbons – Learn all about bats in this wonderful book! How do they fly? How do they use echolocation? What is their diet? Discover fascinating facts about these incredible animals before you go and see them for yourself at Carlsbad Caverns. Best for ages 4-8 years old.
National Geographic Readers: Bats by Elizabeth Carney – This is a great Level 2 Reader for kids to read all about bats themselves. Kids will love knowing more about Carlsbad’s bats before they watch the Bat Program in the evening. Help them get excited to see Carlsbad’s bats! Best for ages 5-8 years old.
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon – Enjoy this classic story about a baby bat that falls from her Mom’s safe embrace after an owl attack. Luckily she is adopted by a family of birds but she must learn to adapt to these birds peculiar habits in this new strange world that she has entered into. This story is great for helping children understand more about bats and like them instead of possibly being afraid of them when they fly out of the cavern. Best for ages 4-7 years old.
How Was Carlsbad Caverns Created?
Most of the caves that people are familiar with (such as Mammoth Cave in Kentucky) were formed by rainwater slowly dissolving limestone over a period of thousands to millions of years. The rainwater penetrates cracks in the surface of the earth and can slowly form underground streams. These underground rivers is what begins to carve out many of our cave systems.
Carlsbad Caverns is different. Carlsbad was formed by sulfuric acid. This was the result of hydrogen-sulfide-rich water, due to local oil deposits, mixing with the rainwater. This acid is what made up the water table here and this slowly began to dissolve the limestone and thus forming Carlsbad Caverns.
Evidence of this cave formation process is in the high concentration of gypsum that is found in this spectacular cavern.
10 Things To Know Before Visiting Carlsbad Caverns.
Location:
Carlsbad Caverns National Park Visitor Center is located approximately 27 miles from Carlsbad, NM. This is a 40 minute drive through the arid landscape of the Chihuahuan Desert. Even though this landscape looks harsh and unlivable, be on the lookout for wildlife on this drive. Here we saw 2 road runners and a deer here, but all sorts of other wildlife is out here as well.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park Fees
Carlsbad National Park Visitor Center is your starting point at this park. Here you will pay your entrance fee of $15 per person to enter the cave on a self guided tour. If you have an America the Beautiful Pass, which I highly recommend, or the Every 4th Grader in a Park Pass (if you have a child in 4th grade) then just show them your pass and you will receive your free admission ticket.
The America the Beautiful Pass is $80 and grants you access to every National Park, National Monument and National Forest for free for one year from the date purchased. For Carlsbad Cavern, our family of five would have had to pay $75 to enjoy this cave. The America the Beautiful Pass almost paid for itself in just this one day.
Carlsbad National Park Visitor Center
At the visitor center be sure to watch the 16 minute film Hidden World. This is a great place to begin your journey. This film starts every half hour and gives a great introduction as to how Carlsbad Caverns was formed. After viewing the video take a moment to view the exhibits for a great introduction to this amazing cave.
At the visitor center you can also see if there are any last minute ranger-guided tours. If you are wanting to take one of these tours, it is highly recommended that you make reservations in advance. These tours have varying age requirements, degree of difficulty and added costs.
Since this was our first time visiting Carlsbad Caverns with our children, we chose to only explore the two most popular trails, The Natural Entrance and the Big Room.
Junior Ranger Program
If you are traveling with children, make sure you pick up the Junior Ranger Booklet from the Visitor Center. There are 2 books to chose from. One that is for children 6 and younger and one for children ages 7-12.
This is an amazing program provided by the National Park System where children can learn about the park they are visiting by completing activities in a booklet marked for their age. Once completed turn the booklet back into the Ranger and your child will be sworn in and earn their official Carlsbad Caverns National Park Junior Ranger Badge!
This badge is a great keepsake for kids and really helps increase their experience in Carlsbad Caverns.
Food/ Water/ Clothing Information
Bring a jacket or sweatshirt. The temperature inside is approximately 56 degrees year round.
Wear close toed shoes with good traction. Some areas of the cave are wet from natural drips within the caverns.
Only plain water is allowed into the cavern. (no flavored water or other drinks are allowed) If you are looking for a good travel water bottle, we like the Nalgene Tritan Wide Mouth BPA-Free 16oz water bottle. It’s easy to carry, simple to clean (which is important when you’re on vacation) and comes in a ton of colors (making it easy for each family member to have their own colored water bottle.)
No gum, mint, candy or any type of food is allowed into the cave. This could attract animals into the cave where they could become trapped.
There is a cafe, Carlsbad Caverns Trading Company, that is located in the visitor center past the gift shop. This cafe serves sandwiches, salad, grab and go food and serves hot meals. We found that this was a great option to use while we waited for the Bat Flight program after touring the cave.
While you are inside of Carlsbad Cavern there is an underground rest area, located at the base by the elevators. Here you can find restrooms, drinking fountains and a limited snack bar. Please note that food purchased there must be consumed at the snack bar only.
Sleeping
Carlsbad Caverns National Park does not offer an overnight lodging or campgrounds. The nearest campground and amenities is located 7 miles from the Visitor Center in White’s City or 20 miles away in Carlsbad, New Mexico.
White-nose Syndrome
White-nose Syndrome is a devastating disease that affects the health of the Brazilian free-tailed bats that call Carlsbad Cavern their home for six months out of the year.
Rangers will ask you if you have been in any cave in the past 10 years and if you were wearing the same shoes in that other cave. If the answer is yes, then you will be provided with disinfectant for your shoes to help stop the spread of this deadly disease.
Cave Etiquette
Did you know that noise can travel up to 1/4 mile in the cavern?
This is a great time to practice quiet voice skills and to emphasize to children to importance of being quiet while inside the cave.
This is where having those quiet games already in mind can greatly help if your child begins to get fidgety.
For Families with Young Kids
It is important to know that strollers are prohibited in all caves here except as necessary for children with mobility issues within the designated wheelchair portions of the Big Room.
Ranger Guided Tours
It is strongly recommended that you make reservations early or at least 48 hours ahead of time for any ranger guided tour. (The Self Guided Tours do not need reservations)
King’s Palace Tour – Discover 4 highly decorated chambers in the deepest portion of the cavern open to the public. (830 feet below the surface) Duration is 1.5hrs, 1 mile, children must be 4 or older
Left Hand Tunnel Tour – A historic candle-lit lantern tour through an undeveloped section of the cavern. Duration is 2 hrs, children must be at least 6 years old.
Lower Cave Tour – View the cave pearls on this tour! The tour takes you on a descent of sixty feet of ladders and knotted rope to hang onto as you walk backward down a slope. Duration is 3 hrs with an age limit of 12 and older.
Hall of White Giant – This tour will get you dirty as you crawl through tight passageways and climb a slippery flowstone. Duration is 4 hrs with an age limit of 12 years and older.
Slaughter Canyon Cave Tour – This tour takes you into an underground wilderness without electricity where only flashlights guide your way. Duration is 5.5 hours with a minimum age of 8 years old.
For more information about these tours and current pricing: https://www.nps.gov/cave/planyourvisit/tour_schedule.htm
I hope you enjoyed learning all about Carlsbad Caverns and that this magnificent cave will be the next place that your “Traveling Feet” go!
Learn More About Carlsbad Caverns Here
Website: https://www.nps.gov/cave/index.htm
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2 comments
A Wonderful description of one of our National Treasures. I love how you make everything so exciting for your children. Thank you for doing this site
Wonderful cave and my very favorite! It is so beautiful and we really liked the fact that it is self guided so people can go at their own speed. I have been there several times since 1958 and it is always a highlight! In 1958 they had a full cafe at 700 and some feet down and I have always remembered eating that far below the surface – it was amazing!
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