Carlsbad Caverns quickly rocketed up to one of my favorite national parks. If I lived nearby, I could easily see myself watching the bats fly out weekly, if not nightly! For those who are interested solely in the underground, seeing Carlsbad Caverns National Park in a day is easily doable. Here’s your Carlsbad Caverns itinerary to make the most out of your day!
-Visitor Center –
The visitor center is a great first stop on your trip. You can learn all about the caves before you explore them. There is a lovely film you can watch about the discovery and preservation of the caverns as a national park. It’s very well done and you can even see some key features once you enter into the caves. If you weren’t able to get in some breakfast before the park, they do have a cantina where you can stop by and pick up something to eat.
-Natural Entrance –
Once you’ve learned all about Carlsbad Caverns National Park, next up its time to check out the caverns, themselves! If you have the ability, I highly recommend hiking down the natural entrance as part of your Carlsbad Caverns itinerary. There is a lot of cave to see on the way down, Even just seeing the natural light diminish is really cool. This trail is 1 and 1/4 mile long and you’ll descend about 750 feet in elevation. The National Park Service website says this takes about an hour to complete. I didn’t time myself, but I’m sure I took longer than that because I was walking on a freshly sprained ankle!
-Take a Tour –
Once you’ve hiked down the natural entrance, you’ll find yourself in the Big Room. This is the main part of Carlsbad Caverns and is both accessible and doesn’t require a ranger. (If you’re unable to hike the natural entrance, you can still take the elevator down to explore this part of the caverns.) Ranger tours meet in the Big Room, and there are two tours currently available to the public – Kings Palace and Lower Cave. If you’re only spending a day at Carlsbad, I would recommend the Kings Palace tour. It’s an additional hour and a half so you’ll still have time to get your souvenirs and a bite to eat.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take either tour. I can’t speak to how they compare to the Big Room, but the Kings Palace tour takes you through four additional chambers and to the deepest part of the cave open to the public. Its only $8 for adults, $6 for children, and its leaves at 10:30 and noon daily.
-Big Room –
Once you’ve finished a ranger-led tour, now you can finish exploring the Big Room on your own. To walk the Big Room Trail in its entirety, you’ll be walking another 1 and 1/4 mile. It takes about an hour and a half. There is a lot to see here as well, including ropes from previous excavations an the original ladder used to explore the caves. If you don’t have enough time or don’t feel like traveling the entire cavern, you’re in luck. There’s a shortcut you can take that cuts the walking time to about half (approx. 45 minutes). Once you’re done, you can save some time by taking the elevator to the visitor center. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can also hike back out via the natural entrance.
-Explore the Surface
After all that hiking inside the caverns, there is still plenty to explore on the surface. You’ll have some time in between the caves/visitor center closing and when the Bat Flight Program starts (unless you’re going in the winter). This gives you the perfect opportunity to drive around and take a look at various points of interest. There are several different pull-offs along the roads into and out of Carlsbad Caverns National Park where you can get out, have a sandwich, and read the signs or explore a short trail.
-Watch the Bats –
There’s no better way to end your day at Carlsbad Caverns than stopping by the outdoor theater to watch the bats exit the cave. Between May and October, you can attend a ranger-led Bat Flight Program where they talk about the bats before they exit. You’ll see thousands of Mexican Free-tailed Bats spiral into the sky to eat their nightly meals. You can stay as long as you’d like, even after the the sky has turned to night. Once you’re ready, you can enjoy the stars on your walk back to the parking lot.
And thus ends your day at Carlsbad Caverns National Park! There are many surface trails you can hike if you have extra time. I hope you enjoyed my Carlsbad Caverns itinerary!
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