Located in the Chihuahuan Desert in remote southeastern New Mexico, Carlsbad Caverns National Park protects one of the world’s largest cave systems. Over the millennia dripping water has built an awe-inspiring array of formations in the caves.
t The Doll’s Theater cave, filled with soda-straw formations, and resembling a fairy grotto
Experience Albuquerque and Southern New Mexico
t Cross-section of Carlsbad Cavern showing tour routes through the main caves
Pictographs near the Natural Entrance indicate that the caves had been visited by Native peoples, but it was 16-year-old cowboy Jim White who brought them to national attention in 1898. While tending cattle, White noticed a cloud of bats rising from the desert hills, which led him to the cave entrance. He explored the caverns over the next few years, naming many of the rooms and rock formations. As tales of the wondrous subterranean world spread, White used an old guano mining bucket to transport early visitors down into the cave. The caverns were made a national park in 1930, and a United Nations World Heritage Site in 1995.
Exploring Carlsbad Cavern
To enter the cavern, either take the elevator directly to the Big Room, or follow the Natural Entrance Trail. This moderate but steep route descends 750 ft (229 m), passing such formations as the Boneyard, Devil’s Den, and Iceberg Rock. It connects to the Big Room Trail, a relatively flat, 1.25-mile (2-km) pathway leading to the Big Room, the largest underground cave chamber in the USA, with such massive formations as the Rock of Ages and Twin Domes.Both of these tours are self-guided; pick up audio guides at the visitor center. Several ranger-led tours are also available. The King’s Palace Tour takes you to the deepest part of the cave open to the public, where there are more amazing cave formations.
Formation of the caves
Over time, fractures in the ancient limestone sedimentation started to appear, allowing mineral-laden water to cut through the rock and form the caverns. Within the national park there are more than 119 known caves, including some of the biggest and longest in the world. The main attraction is Carlsbad Cavern, which is over 1,000 ft (305 m) deep, with 30 miles (48 km) of mapped passages. Over the centuries, drip by drip, rain and snow-melt soaking through the limestone rock above created marvelous, massive speleothems (cave decorations), including top-down stalactites, soda straws and curtains, and bottom-up stalagmites, columns, flowstone, and totem poles.
Insider Tip
Cool Caverns
Temperatures are cool in the caves year round, and even in summer remain in the mid-50s Fahrenheit (about 13° C). Dress in long-sleeved shirts and trousers.
Experience Albuquerque and Southern New Mexico
Above Ground
The park has plenty to do above ground too. The Rattlesnake Springs Picnic Area is a natural wetland with cottonwood trees, where you can spot many of the 357 bird species that find an oasis here. The Walnut Canyon Desert Loop is a scenic 9-mile (15-km) drive with the backdrop of the Guadalupe Mountains. There are also several hiking trails through the surrounding desert wilderness.