Don’t judge a book by its cover and don’t judge a National Park by what is on the surface! The best of Carlsbad Caverns is definitely what is 800 feet below the Visitor Center. We’ve been to a lot of National Parks, but the Carlsbad Caverns holds a special place with us due to the uniqueness of the experience.
The Cave
The caves are an out of this world experience and photos do not do it justice, which is probably a good thing because it is something you just need to experience in person. The scale of the Big Room is incredible! Our three boys walked mouths ajar for the 1.25 mile hike through mammoth stalagmites, stalactites (while correcting us on which is which)! It’s a bit of chose your own destiny with the ability to hike the Natural Entrance in and out or take the elevator. We took the elevator down and chose the challenging 1.25 mile hike out with an 800’ elevation climb, and our boys crushed it!
Picnic and Surface Hiking Trails
The surface was a desert terrain where we took some short hikes, saw a herd of big horn sheep, drove the scenic trail and enjoyed a lunch overlooking the expanse of the New Mexico Plains. If you’re short on time, skip the scenic drive but make sure to do a lunch at the Visitor Center and hike the Nature Trail to learn about desert plant life. There is a nice picnic area on the far East side of the parking lot very close to where the Nature Trail starts.
We visited during the pandemic so access was restricted, we definitely recommend checking out the website to determine whether you need to register for a timed entry for access to the main cave. You’d be missing the main attraction if you couldn’t enter the cave!
Best time to visit:
If you plan to just see the main attraction, you can visit anytime during the year, the cave is the same temperature (53 degrees) year round.
There are bats living in the cave from May to October, and you can watch 100,000+ bats leave the cave for the night during these months.
If you plan to also visit Guadalupe Mountains while in the area, Fall is the best time to catch the foliage.
Where we stayed:
We rented an Airbnb in Carlsbad, NM. The best thing about it is the proximity to see three National Parks, and the list pretty much ends there. We were busy seeing Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands, and Guadalupe Mountains so we didn’t spend any time in Carlsbad. There are some newer hotels on the western side of the city that could be good options. If you prefer Airbnb, I would recommend focusing your search to the north by the river.
Airbnb / VRBO Tip!
When booking in an unfamiliar city Zillow is a great resource to to get a better idea of the neighborhood.
Other things to do:
Just another 30 minutes down the road is Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
A day trip to White Sands National Park is well worth the drive.
