New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns National Park is an amazing underground wonderland. Once you take the elevator 75 stories below ground, you will see the incredible exotic caverns and formations found within, all an incredible sight to behold. In addition, make sure to view the bat flight out of the cave each evening, a sundown ritual worth seeing. The other-worldly experience of visiting this amazing park is one not to miss.
Our family arrived at Carlsbad Caverns after having departed White Sands National Park in New Mexico, on our Summer 2021 RV Road Trip. We had made reservations for the 1:30pm Cave Tour, with limited capacity due to the COVID pandemic, and arrived at the Visitor Center around 12:30pm. The kids enjoyed spending some time checking out the gift shop, as well as some of the exhibits of the Visitor Center, before we headed down the path to the entrance of the cave to begin our self-guided tour.
Pre-COVID, the park offered several tour options to visitors, but our only option was the self-guided tour, so we rented some audio tours from the Visitor Center to be able to get some good information and facts as we went. Keep in mind the tours are required to enter the caverns.
From the entrance of the cave, visitors have the option of taking an elevator 75 stories below ground to begin their tour, or hiking this route, via the Natural Entrance Trail, a 1.25 mile STEEP trail into the caverns.
We opted to hike the Natural Entrance Trail into the caverns, and were so glad that we did. It truly gave us the perspective of just how DEEP this underground wonderland is, 75 stories beneath the surface of the ground. Plan to wear sturdy shoes, as the ground can be wet, and the trail steep. Also, dress in layers, as the cave temperature hovers in the 50’s. Our kids also enjoyed having their headlamps as well for additional light as we hiked, even though the pathways are lit.
Though we knew that Carlsbad Caverns was likely to be impressive, we really had no idea just how impressive it would be. Each room we entered seemed more awe-inspiring than the next, with stalactites and stalagmites incredible, and the numerous cave formations bizarre, including columns, cave popcorn, and even cave bacon. The kids had a blast deciphering and imagining that each of these formations was something different.
We really enjoyed our tour, and exploring the Big Room, the largest room in the cave. Our exploration lasted a few hours, and we were also glad to have the audio tour along for tons of information on the history of the cave, the details of its formation and characteristics, and many other fun facts.
After our tour, we all spent some time outside together, where the kids worked on their Junior Ranger books and we had a snack. Upon finishing their books, our ranger, Dan, spent some really good time asking all the kids questions about the caverns, and then swearing the in afterwards.
After heading back to our RV Park for dinner, the Whites City RV Park, conveniently located right outside the park, we headed back into the park that evening for the evening Bat Flight Program.
We arrived at twilight for the program, which begins at 7:30pm with an introduction to the bats, the primary residents of Carlsbad Caverns. Every night at sunset, these Brazilian bats make a mass exodus out of the mouth of the cave, and you can view this amazing journey from the amphitheater at the mouth of the caverns. It was well-worth the visit, and we all enjoyed learning about the bats, about their habits (this cave is a “maternity cave,” containing many mothers and babies), and watching them emerge from the cave. In addition, we had the additional thrill of seeing another of the parks’ residents, the ringtail cat, which scampered back and forth across the mouth of the cave during the Ranger’s presentation. Even the ranger was surprised to catch a glimpse of this usually-unseen animal there. The kids really loved that! No photos or videos were allowed of the Bat Flight due to the fact that they can disturb the animals.
On our way out of the park that evening, we spotted the last of many tarantulas that day! These spooky creatures were a fixture in the park, and we spotted them on the roads, and all around the visitor center. Brady even touched on with his hand! YIKES!
Our day in Carlsbad Caverns had come to an end.
