Exploring Carlsbad Caverns National Park: Best Tips + Activities

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Podcast Episode Overview

Picture yourself winding down switchbacks into a gaping hole in the Chihuahuan Desert, the air cooling with every step, until the trail opens into a space so big, it takes more than a mile to walk around it. 

That’s Carlsbad Caverns, and it’s our favorite cave in the entire national park system. In this episode, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about paying these caves a proper visit — including how to get into the cave now that so much has changed, plus a formation-by-formation scavenger hunt for the Natural Entrance Trail and the Big Room.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why Carlsbad Caverns beats every other cave we’ve visited (and we’ve been to a lot of them!)
• Where to stay near a park with no lodges and no campgrounds
• The three-step process to actually get into the cave (timed entry, entrance fee, and elevator vs. hiking)
• Why the Natural Entrance Trail is the most dramatic way we’ve ever entered a cave
• A 7-stop scavenger hunt for the Natural Entrance Trail and an 8-stop hunt for the Big Room
• The bat flight program (and the cave swallow we DON’T love)
• Which ranger-guided tours are running right now
• An example day at Carlsbad Caverns

Your task for today: Head over to the @DirtInMyShoes Facebook or Instagram page and tell us which Carlsbad Caverns formation you’d put at the top of your scavenger hunt list — Iceberg Rock, the Witch’s Finger, the Bottomless Pit, or the rope dangling from the Spirit World!

Planning your own Carlsbad Caverns National Park adventure?

• 5 Things You Can’t Miss On Your First Visit to Carlsbad Caverns
• Episode 105: 8-Day Spring Break National Parks Road Trip (that includes Carlsbad Caverns National Park)
• Master Reservation List
• National Park Checklist
• Trip Packing List

Exploring Carlsbad Caverns National Park

There’s a moment on the Natural Entrance Trail when the daylight behind you fades, the air drops to a cool 56 degrees, and you realize you’re walking into the earth itself. 

It’s every bit as surreal as it sounds. And it’s waiting for you at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. 

Tucked into the Chihuahuan Desert of southeastern New Mexico, this is our absolute favorite cave national park. It has the huge, cavernous spaces you’d find at Mammoth Cave and the dense decorations you’d find at Jewel Cave, all in one place.

The park itself is small, but let’s be honest…you’re here for the cave! However, the way the park is managed, and how you can visit the caves, has changed a lot since we first started visiting. 

So in this episode, we walk you through the current logistics, then give you a scavenger hunt so you know exactly what to look for underground.

Heads up: we talk in the episode about how a lot of these details have been changing. Always double-check the Carlsbad Caverns Alerts & Conditions page before you go.

When to Visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Carlsbad Caverns is a year-round park, and because caves hold a nearly constant temperature, your experience inside the cave will be about the same no matter the season.

We typically find ourselves here in the spring and fall. Summer and holiday weekends are the busiest, and the desert gets really hot. But there’s one very good reason to come in the summer: the bat flight (more on that below!).

Where to Stay Near Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Carlsbad Caverns doesn’t have any lodges or developed campgrounds inside the park, so you’ll need to plan ahead. Whites City sits right outside the park entrance, and the town of Carlsbad is a bit farther away. 

Lodging options in this area are limited, and it’s hard to find somewhere that feels clean and relaxing. We’ve stayed in hotels in both places and lived to tell the tale, but these days we usually camp.

Camping at Chosa Campground

Our go-to is Chosa Campground, a free BLM campground just south of the park off Highway 62/180. It’s basically a big, flat gravel lot with no water and no restrooms, but it’s free, and the location is fantastic for visiting both Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains.

Camping at Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Carlsbad Caverns is only about 40 minutes from Guadalupe Mountains National Park, just across the Texas border. Often, we’ll camp at Guadalupe Mountains and drive over to Carlsbad Caverns for the day. It would be a real shame to come all this way and not visit both!

INSIDER TIP: 
You’re far enough from town that running into Carlsbad between cave activities isn’t practical. Bring what you need for the day — and be sure to pack a lunch!

Carlsbad Caverns National Park Visitor Center

When you enter the park, you’ll drive the main park road all the way to the end, where everything is clustered together — the parking lot, pet kennels, the visitor center, a gift shop, a restaurant, and the start of all cave access.

The visitor center restaurant isn’t anything fancy, but we’ve eaten there a few times, and it’s air-conditioned, which feels really nice depending on when you visit.

How to Get Into Carlsbad Caverns

This is honestly the most important part of the whole episode. The entry process is confusing because there are two separate things you need: a timed entry reservation and an entrance fee.

Step 1: Reserve Your Timed Entry

As of this recording, you need a Carlsbad Caverns timed entry reservation to go into the cave, whether you take the elevator or hike in. It’s just $1 per person, and kids need their own reservation, too. 

This system only reserves your entry time — it limits how many people are in the cave at once.

Reservations open 30 days in advance at 8 a.m. Mountain time. The cave has limited entry hours (roughly 9 a.m. to about 2:30 p.m.), so plan to arrive in the morning. Walk-ins are sometimes available, but we definitely recommend reserving ahead.

Step 2: Check in and Pay Your Entrance Fee at the Visitor Center

Your timed entry reservation does not include the park entrance fee. When you arrive, head into the visitor center, get in line, and bring your reservation with you.

If you have an annual pass, like the America the Beautiful Pass, a Senior Pass, an Access Pass, or a 4th grade pass, it covers the pass holder plus three adults. 

Otherwise, you’ll pay the per-person entrance fee. Check the current rates on the Carlsbad Caverns Fees & Passes page.

The easiest way to remember it: timed entry is the one you make in advance. The entrance fee is the one you handle when you get there.

Step 3: Choose the Elevator or the Natural Entrance Trail

The elevators are right by the ticket line, and they’ll take you straight down to the Big Room. That’s a perfectly good option if it’s what you need. But if you’re able to hike, we’re going to try hard to convince you to take the Natural Entrance Trail down instead, then ride the elevator back up.

Hiking the Natural Entrance Trail

The Natural Entrance Trail is the most dramatic entrance into a cave we’ve ever experienced. It’s a winding, paved path that drops straight into a massive hole in the ground, and it really does feel like a journey to the center of the earth.

The trail is 1.25 miles one way and descends about 750 feet. The cave is wet, and the trail is steep, so wear good closed-toe shoes with solid traction. Your knees will feel it by the end, but it’s so worth it. 

You’re also following in the footsteps of Jim White, the cowboy who explored the cave in the late 1800s. He named a lot of the formations along this route — and there are a lot of devils in this cave!

An important thing to keep in mind as you plan your trip: NPS notes that this trail isn’t recommended for visitors with heart or respiratory conditions, and it isn’t wheelchair accessible.

Natural Entrance Trail Scavenger Hunt: 7 Things to Find

John did a ton of research for this episode because nobody ever tells you what to look for before you go. Trust us, there’s a lot to see!

Here’s his list for the hike down:

1. The Natural Entrance: Look for the Bat Flight Amphitheater at the top, and watch for cave swallows circling the entrance. Wear sunglasses, or at least don’t look straight up. A swallow scored a direct hit in Ash’s eye on our last visit.
2. The Bat Cave: You won’t walk into the bat colony’s roost, but signs point you toward it. You’ll probably smell it, too. There was so much guano here that people once mined it.
3. Devil’s Spring: A small column rising from a pool. Scientists think the spring was last full during the last ice age.
4. The Witch’s Finger: A slender, knobby stalagmite pointing straight up at the ceiling.
5. Devil’s Hump: Visitors used to climb up and over this hump. Now you walk through a tunnel blasted underneath it.
6. Iceberg Rock: A roughly 200,000-ton boulder that fell from the ceiling.
7. The Boneyard: A spongy, Swiss-cheese-looking formation that you rarely see in caves. 

INSIDER TIP:
A scavenger hunt is a great way to keep younger kids engaged on a self-guided tour. We’ve also given our kids small cameras so they can “collect” formations with photos instead of touching them. Set the “no touching” rule from the very start — the oils on our fingers damage cave formations.

The Big Room

Whichever way you get down, you’ll end up at the Big Room, the crowning glory of Carlsbad Caverns. It’s the largest single cave chamber by volume in North America, and your jaw will drop the moment you see it.

The cave stays about 56 degrees year-round, so pack layers. You’ll likely be coming from a hot desert, and you want everyone comfortable enough to take their time down here instead of rushing because they’re cold.

The Big Room Trail is a 1.25-mile loop — the same distance you just hiked down, all in one room! It’s mostly flat, with a few ups and downs. There’s also a shortcut through the middle that cuts it to about 0.6 miles, and portions of the trail are wheelchair accessible via the elevators. See the park’s Accessibility Guide for details.

Rangers patrol the Big Room, too, so even though it’s self-guided, there’s someone around to answer questions.

Big Room Scavenger Hunt: 8 Things to Find

These are listed out of order — otherwise, it wouldn’t be a scavenger hunt!

1. Giant Dome: In the Hall of Giants, rising more than 60 feet above the trail, flanked by its buddies, the Twin Domes.
2. Rock of Ages: Legend says an early visitor was so moved by this formation that he burst into the hymn “Rock of Ages.” Just remember to keep your voice down — sound carries a long way in the cave!
3. The Totem Pole: The tallest of a group of skinny stalagmites, reaching up toward a sharp chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
4. Temple of the Sun: Hundreds of stalactites, some tinted a warmer orange by iron and other minerals. 
5. Top of the Cross: The Big Room is shaped like a T, and this seating area sits where the lines meet. Look up and try to spot the rope explorers floated to the ceiling with helium balloons to reach a hidden area they named the Spirit World.
6. Crystal Spring Dome: One of the largest actively growing formations in the cave. You can tell it’s still growing because it’s wet. (Use your eyes, not your hands!)
7. Mirror Lake: A small, still pool. Water takes months to travel from the surface down to this lake.
8. The Bottomless Pit: Early explorers couldn’t see the bottom by candlelight, but it does have one, about 140 feet down. Look up, too — the Liberty Dome rises high above it.

Quick stalactite vs. stalagmite reminder: Stalactites hang tight to the ceiling. Stalagmites might reach the ceiling (or you might trip over them).

The Underground Rest Area and Elevators

At the end of the Big Room, you’ll find something that always surprises first-timers: flush toilets and a lunchroom in the middle of a cave! However, the park’s website currently seems to say two different things about food in the underground lunchroom, so check with the visitor center on the day of your visit.

In the past, we’ve been able to buy prepackaged grab-and-go food and eat there. Everywhere else in the cave, stick to plain water only. Food can attract critters and disrupt the cave ecosystem. 

The elevator line back to the surface is right by the restrooms and lunchroom. There’s almost always a line, and sometimes it gets long.

The Bat Flight Program

The moment you’ve all been waiting for…the Bat Flight Program!

Each evening during bat season, a ranger gives a talk at the Bat Flight Amphitheater, right at the Natural Entrance. Then everything goes dark, and thousands of bats spiral out of the cave over your head. Jim White first found the cave because he saw these bats.

Program times change with sunset, so check at the visitor center for the time. The program is free and doesn’t require reservations. To protect the bats, electronic devices aren’t allowed.

Ranger-Guided Cave Tours

If you just do the Natural Entrance Trail, the Big Room, and the bat flight, you’ll be so happy with your trip. But if you have extra time and want to see more, there are a couple of ranger-guided tours to consider.

A lot has changed here. There are far fewer tours than we’ve ever seen at this park, largely due to staffing shortages. Ranger-guided tours are now for ages 6 and up, so if you have little ones, don’t feel like you’re missing out — the Big Room is the highlight.

King’s Palace Tour

The King’s Palace Tour is the park’s most popular ranger-guided tour, and we love it. It takes you to the deepest part of the cave open to the public, about 830 feet below the surface. When we did it, you could reserve tickets in advance. Now it’s walk-up only, and it only runs if there’s enough staff that day.

Lower Cave Tour

This tour is on our bucket list because of its cave pearls. It’s for ages 12 and up, runs about once a week in small groups, and is reservable. Expect tickets to be competitive. Reserve on the Lower Cave Tour reservation page.

Other Things to Do at Carlsbad Caverns

Honestly, every time we go back now, we only do the cave. But if you want to get a feel for the area, here are two options:

• Walnut Canyon Desert Drive: We’ve enjoyed this scenic drive in the past (and saw a lot of big rattlesnakes on it). It’s currently closed due to flood damage. Check the park’s flood damage update for the latest information.
• Rattlesnake Springs: A shady picnic area with a small pond, reached by a separate access point outside the main park road.

Our Perfect Day Exploring Carlsbad Caverns

If you’re exploring Carlsbad Caverns for the first time, here’s the day we recommend:

1. Grab the earliest timed entry reservation you can.
2. Check in and pay your entrance fee at the visitor center (and ask whether King’s Palace is running).
3. Hike down the Natural Entrance Trail, checking off John’s 7-stop scavenger hunt.
4. Walk the full Big Room loop and find all 8 formations.
5. Ride the elevator back up.
6. Come back at dusk for the Bat Flight Program.

That’s it. That’s the perfect day. You’ll need to plan a little further ahead than you used to, but it’s one of the most unforgettable days you’ll have in any national park!

Links Mentioned in This Podcast Episode:

• Jim White, Cave Explorer
• Carlsbad Caverns Interesting Facts
• Carlsbad Caverns Audio Guide Script
• The Boneyard: In the Beginning
• Carlsbad Caverns Photo Gallery
• Cave Exploration Milestones
• The Bottomless Pit
• Rock of Ages
• Canyons & Caves Newsletter No. 17

While You’re in the Area:

• 5 Things You Can’t Miss On Your First Visit to Guadalupe Mountains
• 5 Things You Can’t Miss On Your First Visit to White Sands
• Episode 105: 8-Day Spring Break National Parks Road Trip (Including Guadalupe Mountains National Park)