Carlsbad Caverns
National Park
About Carlsbad Caverns
Visited – November 2019 (#22 of 63)
Established (as NP) May 1930
47K acres (about 2% the size of Yellowstone)
Where is Carlsbad Caverns NP: In southeastern New Mexico, about 180 miles east of Las Cruces.
Recommendations
Don’t miss: They offer both self-guided and ranger led tours. You should should sign up ahead of time for any ranger one. Wear your walking shoes! We did the Kings Palace (ranger) and the hike from the Natural Entrance to the Big Room. Pick a couple to your liking and abilities and you can’t go wrong.
When to visit: Pretty much any time as the underground temperature is a constant 56F. There might be snow above ground in the winter, but that’s pretty rare.
How long to stay: A day, maybe two if you take more than a couple tours.
Check out the Photo Gallery of our best pictures.
Photo Gallery
Yeah, it’s a cave. But it’s spectacular. Even though it is mostly monochromatic, the variations in the formations made for some cool pictures. And when they mentioned “cave bacon” our interest was definitely piqued. Take a look at these shots, but it’s something you should see for yourself.
Link to NPS Info
Click to visit the park’s website with maps, history, and lots of great info on things to do and places to see.
Trip Report
Read about our adventure to Carlsbad Caverns…
It’s an otherworldly experience seeing all the amazing formations. Going deep underground allows you to experience total darkness. We will visit again sometime so we can see the bats leave the cave at sunset (it was November during our visit and the bats had left for the season).
Carlsbad Caverns Blog Posts
Carlsbad Caverns Report
Carlsbad Caverns is known worldwide for its colorful underground formations. Growing up, it was one of the "far away" places I really wanted to see. There was just this mystery to it and I thought caves were cool. Well the mystery is mostly gone, but I'm...