Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Made it to New Mexico!

Carlsbad Caverns National Park!

So, in case you were wondering, Carlsbad Caverns is a cave. You're welcome. Now, as you may or may not have realized, this is the 3rd cave complex that we have graced with our presence on this journey. The first one was Wind Cave National Park, which was awesome not just for the cave, but also because of the personal aspect of the ranger tour. The second was Mammoth Cave, which was awesome because it is an incredibly large cave complex. Carlsbad Caverns is also awesome.

We arrived at the visitor's center bright and early, which, it turns out doesn't matter when you are in a cave... but we felt good to have arrived before the rush of people overwhelmed the natural beauty we were about to experience. Carlsbad Caverns is unique in that it offer an extensive self guided tour opportunity, which we opted to partake in. It also offers a self guided audio tour, which we decided NOT to partake in as we wanted to make it through the cave before January.

There are two ways to access this cave. Number 1, the elevator. Yes, there is an elevator to take you down the 750 feet to the main cave. Number 2, you can walk to the natural entrance, and enter a wonderland, following the path as it winds its way down countless switchbacks into the heart of the cave. We chose number 2. As naturally we would.

Calling this cave a cavern is in no way an exaggeration. The first room we entered, and indeed nearly every other room we passed through on our 3ish hour tour was larger than any room we had seen thus far in the caves we have visited. The rooms were literally cavernous. In one of the rooms we snapped our fingers and the sound echoed for 5 or more seconds. It was incredible. But, that wasn't the only amazing thing about this cave.

Speleothem: A structure formed in a cave by the deposition of minerals from water. For example, a stalactite. This cave is the poster cave for speleothems. Everywhere we looked, there they were. Big ones, small ones, intricate ones, smooth ones; they were everywhere! In the first room of this cave we saw more stalactites than all the previous caving we had done combined. Times 5. Or more. And they never stopped. Thankfully the NP service has provided lighting in the cave that shows the incredible quantity and diversity of these amazing structures. Every time we turned a new corner, we just wanted to soak it in and take even more pictures! So good! We only walked a few miles, but they were so full, it almost felt like we were rushing to take as long as we did. When we finally finished the tour, we took the elevator back up (it seemed wise... that is a lot of up!) and headed to the car. Definitely not disappointed.

Personnel:
We encountered 3 different personnel during our visit. Personnel number 1 was working at the information. She gave us information. It was confusing. After following this information unsuccessfully, we tried person number 2. She was at the ticket counter, and gave us a ticket. We weren't sure why, since our tour was free. But we took our ticket, and follower her directions, and found person number 3! He was manning the cave entrance. He shared the cave rules very thoroughly and effectively, and sent us on our way. Not the most personal bunch, but overall 2/3 were effective, so that is 67%... passing grade, sorta...

Climate/weather:
We were in a cave. Turns out the cave is always about 56 degrees. We actually ended up getting warm enough to take off our jackets towards the end of the adventure.

Facilities/signage:
The facilities at the visitor's center were pretty standard (soap, water, etc.) but the really exciting situation: there is a full restroom facility (flush toilets, running water, soap, hand dryers, etc.) down in the cave! And they were clean! Oh yes, you can do your business in a cave without getting in trouble! And, the restroom had cool cave-like walls, so you really felt like you were there! In the cave! What more could you ask for? The entrance sign was pretty standard, and the other above ground signs were good. Signs leading visitors to the cave entrance were definitely lacking in clarity, we kinda had to wander a bit to find our way. Once we made it inside the cave, though, the signs were excellent. Clear, effective, informative, well placed.

Hiking/caving experience:
The path through the cave was excellent: well marked, easy to walk on and look around without tripping, (mostly) wheelchair accessible, and plenty to see. The only part that was less than stellar was that the path was quite slick in some places, but there were always handrails to support yourself with.

Driving experience:
We didn't spend too much time driving, just the route to the VC, and from what we saw it was nice, but didn't inspire us to want to do more, the cave was really the attraction.

Camping options:
There are no developed campgrounds in the park, backcountry camping is allowed with a same day permit. Outside the park there is camping at Whites City and Carlsbad. The park is also close to BLM land and we were able to stay in a dispersed campsite nearby.

Hammockability:
If you were allowed to go off the path in the cave, there would be plenty of options... but... you aren't allowed to. So, sadly the hammockability is low.

Scenery:
Yes. There is all the cave scenery to be had here. It was spectacular.

Nearby food:
Technically the nearby "town" of Whites City, but realistically the city of Carlsbad (1/2 an hour away) is your best choice.

Go here. Enter cave. Enjoy life. This cave is spectacular in a way no other cave we have seen has been. As far as repeat-ability, we would say that coming back here with someone who hasn't seen it would be fantastic! If we were to return ourselves without an untested rookie, we would probably opt for one of the many advanced ranger led tours that take you to other parts of the cave, as well as experiencing the flight of the bats that occur mid-spring through late-fall in the evenings. If you haven't been here. Please go. And please call us before you do so we can go too.

And now, we are off to Great Sand Dunes National Park!