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Plan a Road Trip > Explore America > National Parks > Carlsbad Caverns National Park |
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3225 National Parks Hwy, Carlsbad, NM 88220
Phone: 505-785-2232
Fax: 505-785-2133
Open All Year
Overview.0 Carlsbad Caverns, one of the world's largest cave systems, is also its most accessible. Elevators whisk visitors 750 feet down into the heart of the Capitan Reef, where water and time have carved out the awe-inspiring "Big Room." The Big Room, 1,800 feet long and 255 feet high, is filled with huge columns and stalagmites, as well as delicate rimstone and soda straw formations. Every summer night, the cave's bat population (two to three hundred thousand) takes to the skies at sunset.
What to see and do. 0 If you're in good shape and ready for a steep, downhill hike, follow the self-guided Natural Entrance Tour past the iceberg and the boneyard into the Big Room. Those with limited time or stamina can descend into the cave via elevator for the mile-and-a-quarter tour around the Big Room. Rangers are available to answer your questions.
Don't worry about getting hungry or needing a restroom. The Underground Lunch Room will be happy to feed you, and restrooms are located near the elevators. Before you embark on either tour, pick up a listening device from the visitor center. This will enhance the self-guided tour.
If you have time, make reservations for the King's Palace Tour, a ranger-guided tour through the four delicate "scenic rooms" of the cavern. If you visit in the summer, don't miss the spectacular Bat Flight. Admission is free, and a ranger-led program commences a half-hour before dusk.
If you want to explore a "wild" cave, ranger-led tours of Slaughter Canyon Cave are available daily in summer and on weekends in winter, by reservation. Sturdy, comfortable shoes, a flashlight, and water are required.
Backpacking is allowed within the park as long as you obtain a free camping permit from the visitor center. Caving is permitted in 10 of the 109 caves in the park by special permit only. A self-guided driving tour through Walnut Canyon offers visitors a close look at the Chihuahuan desert.
Picnicking is available at several locations, including Rattlesnake Springs, south and west of Whites City.
The caverns are open every day except Christmas. The visitor center is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the summer and to 5:30 p.m. in the winter, with the last tour commencing several hours earlier. In addition to the Underground Lunch Room, there is a full-service restaurant in the visitor center, as well as interpretive displays, gift shops, and a bookstore. To make reservations for off-trail trips, call 800-967-2283.
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Please call ahead to confirm details. We do our best to give you current information, but facts can change. Please let us know if you find something's changed.
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