My visit to Carlsbad Caverns National Park was part of a week-long road trip to 3 national parks in the southwest near El Paso, Texas – including White Sands and Guadalupe Mountains. Each of these NPs can be well covered in a day or two, and I found that joining them together for a travel week in early April before the onset of summer’s heat made for a fun and rewarding itinerary. I began at White Sands and added a day of short hikes in Lincoln National Forest, followed by a day at Carlsbad and two at Guadalupe.
While Carlsbad Caverns NP may be covered in a day, I would emphasize that its caverns are spectacular. The caverns are among the most extensive and accessible in the world. They stretch 40 miles underground—and more are still being discovered. I fear that my iPhone photos in this blog do not visually convey their awesomeness, but trust me, please, the caverns are just that—awesome.
Natural Entrance Route
It’s Deep and Dark Down There!
In early spring 2024, there were three cave tour options. On this trip, my good friend Sandy and I started our visit by entering the cave system via the Natural Entrance Route, as it is called, following the 1.25-mile route of the original explorers. It is a soft-paved path that leads you steeply down numerous switchbacks, descending over 750 vertical feet underground—that’s the height of the Empire State Building!
Highlights of the Route include colorfully named sites such as The Boneyard, Devil’s Spring, and Bat Cave. We spent about 1 ½ hours on this Route because the caves are so enthralling.
Tip: You could descend instead by elevator, but you’d be missing a lot. I recommend hiking down the Natural Entrance and taking the elevator back up, although Sandy and I walked back up because, well, we like to hike.
Technical Note: A reminder from your junior high geology. Stalactites grow from the ceiling (top-down); Stalagmites grow from the ground (bottom-up). You can remember this because the former has a “t” for growing from the top and the latter a “g” for growing from the ground. Such knowledge. Priceless!
Big Room Route
The second tour option, the Big Room Route, starts where the Natural Entrance trail ends, at the bottom of the elevators. This is a flat, 1.25-mile loop route which hugs the perimeter of the cave’s largest room which covers the area of approximately 14 football fields. Whoa!
Tip: In addition to the self-guided Natural Entrance and Big Room, the rangers offered a guided tour of another part of the cave system named the King’s Palace. This tour becomes available for on-line reservation a month before the tour date, and you must reserve immediately. I tried to book a day late, and the tour was full.
There are five or so surface hiking trails at Carlsbad Caverns, which, in my view, lead around unremarkable, scrubby desert terrain. But if you’re a fan of desert flora, the ½-mile Chihuahuan Desert Nature Trail would be the ticket. We passed. However, we did enjoy lunch-time views from picnic tables overlooking the desert below.
Evening Flight of the Bats
The one regret is that we were too early in the season to observe the Evening Flight of the Bats. From late April through October, a mass exodus of some 400,000 Brazilian free-tailed bats takes place each evening at nightfall. The bats hang out in the cavern by day and depart at night to devour insects. There’s an outdoor stone amphitheatre at the mouth of the Natural Entrance, so visitors can watch the bats take flight. (In the cooler off-months, the bats are like Canadian “snowbirds” and have migrated further south to warmer weather.)
Fun Fact: These bats consume about half their body weight in insects each night. We thank them for their effort, for the moths they eat would otherwise damage local crops. On the other hand, 400,000 bats leave behind a veritable “shitload” of guano. There’s a bright side to this, though. The 90 tons of bat guano removed to date has been shipped to west coast orange growers who fertilize their orchards with the nitrogen-rich guano. Just think of that the next time you enjoy a morning OJ.
In Summary: A day-trip to Carlsbad Caverns National Park is awesome! As with most National Park visits, planning and making reservations are key to an enjoyable trip. I hope this blog has provided the encouragement to add it to your list of national park trips. For all the details on this trip, which includes White Sands and Guadalupe National Parks, check out my itinerary.
Carpe Diem!
