Robert Pattinson, come on down!
No offense to Batman , but the Dark Knight ’s bougie chiropteran cave ca n’t hold a candle — or a flickering , old - fashioned lantern — to the tunnels of New Mexico’sCarlsbad Caverns National Park .
Sure , Gotham ’s crest crusader might have butler serve and more gadgets than James Bond , but that ’s nothing compared to the tranquil loftiness of these cave , where hundreds of thousands of Brazilian free - tailed bats take up residence and help tick all the box for that quintessential caving experience . Dark , ominous descent into the unknown ? stoppage . Unexplained dripping dissonance and bottomless pits ? Check , check . A nightly migration of bats , twiddle up from the cave in such quite a little amounts that they collectively resemble a program library - quiet crack cocaine ? watch !
hide away in the Guadalupe Mountains , Carlsbad Caverns ’ Brobdingnagian secret internal ear of sprawling caverns — let in the aptly named Big Room , the largest cave sleeping room in North America — pre - dates humanity by a duet hundred million years . They took shape as sulfuric acid dissolve limestone rock music , steady creating pocket and caverns fill with stalactites , stalagmites , and other geological eye candy .
Step into Mother nature’s spotlight.|evenfh/Shutterstock
Long make out to the Mescalero Apache and Zuni Pueblo Native Americans , in 1898 , cowboy Jim White became the first credited explorer to stake deep into the caves when what appear like a plume of smoke billowing from the ground get his eye . ( Spoiler alarm : that “ smoke ” was a swarm of cricket bat . ) Designated in 1930 , Carlsbad Caverns is now one of America ’s oldest national parks , establish to preserve the immense limestone chambers and subterranean grandness .
All that , along with its far - flung middle - of - nowhere locale in southern New Mexico — affirming this state as a trippy dreamscape — might make this auditory sensation like the premise for a horror movie ( or at least a camp Batman sequel with nipple suit of clothes ) . But Carlsbad Caverns is a home of everlasting awe , an underrated , overlooked interior parking area where the only thing to fear is the FOMO you ’ll have if you do n’t go .
The Most Beautiful Caves in the U.S. You Can Visit
Check your fear of the dark at the door.
Where is Carlsbad Caverns National Park?
Located in deep southern New Mexico , Carlsbad Caverns sits not far north of the Texas perimeter andGuadalupe Mountains National Park . A pretty far toss from New Mexico ’s better - make love cities — Carlsbad Caverns is about 1.5 hours from intergalacticRoswelland near five hours from bothAlbuquerqueandSanta Fe — the nearest town is ( appropriately ) Carlsbad , New Mexico , which sits 30 minutes northwards .
The best time to visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park
One of the biggest benefits of visiting a national park that ’s mostly underground is that you pretty much know what you ’re getting into weather - heady , no matter the time of year . Sure , the forecast on the surface can fluctuate pretty dramatically — after several visit to Carlsbad Caverns , I ’ve warded off heat exhaustion in the summer and bundled up in the snow in the wintertime — but the temperature inside the cave is about 56 ° F year - round , free of downfall or wind .
In the summer , when southerly New Mexico turn into a broiler with temps edge towards 100 ° farad during the day , the caves provide a cool down rest , especially since thunderstorm tend to come forth abruptly in August and September . Winters can see C and shabu but are typically somewhat well-fixed , with temporary lingering in the L .
saltation rain can add some vibrancy to the desert botany , but also make some of the hiking trails a fleck mirky and slippery , while fall fluctuates between hover heat and bracing pumpkin spice vibes . In world-wide , spill and winter are optimum for stave off conditions extremes and summertime road trip crowds ; just be aware that the park ’s famed nightly bat migrations only occur through mid - crepuscule - ish before the critters transmigrate in the south for the winter .
Witness the real-life Bat Cave (and its 700,000+ inhabitants)
Yellowstonehas bison and grizzly bears . Evergladeshas crocodiles and alligators . RedwoodhasBigfoot . At Carlsbad Caverns , the iconic resident critter is the bat . While roadrunner , javelinas , and rattlesnakes dwell on the stereotypical desert surface , it ’s the ocean of teeny - tiny squash racquet in the cave that has come to be synonymous with Carlsbad Caverns — after all , without them , Jim White might never have fall across it .
There are actually several bat species that reside here , but it ’s the tremendous colony of migratory Brazilian loose - tailed bats that takes top charge . With routine in the one C of chiliad , sometimes as high as the population of Seattle ( ~770,000 ! ) , they put on quite the show each evening in the spring , summertime , and gloaming months .
Most of the bat last up to 1.5 nautical mile into the cave , fly out silently into the night to junket on insects and avail shorten your glitch spray expenses . The only flying mammalian on Earth , bats like these weigh a scant half - ounce with whispering - thin wings as long as 11 inch .
The bats don’t need any light to see you.|Westend61/Westend61/Getty Images
As they waver up from the cave ’s natural entrance each eventide , their corporate mass resemble cloud of smoke or an eerily quiet , jet - black twister . all harmless to hoi polloi , the mysterious migratory , roosting , and feed habits of the colony is a topic of dateless fascination for park rangers , scientists , and Batman sports fan alike .
Each night from May through October , car park rangers host free Bat Flight Programsat the amphitheater area of the cave ’s innate entrance , where visitor can pick up about the squash racquet before their trajectory . Just before the squash racquet emerge , Ranger remind everyone to put their tv camera and phones by and stay whole quiet so as not to cut off these touchy creatures , who are accustomed to full wickedness and muteness .
There ’s something spectacular about see such a feat of nature without any distractions whatsoever , an experience powerful on equivalence with spotting your first bison in Yellowstone orseeing the Grand Canyon for the first time .
Descending into the darkness one by one…|Peter Unger/The Image Bank Unreleased/Getty Images
Descend a mile below Earth’s surface with subterranean hikes
Beyond the Bat Flight Program , there ’s much to see and do at Carlsbad Caverns National Park , admit play on the open for anyone who might be too timid for spelunking . The most popular and iconic drawing card is the mere process of go in the cave viaThe Natural Entrance Trailand descending into the deepness along a voluminous 1.25 - mile trail that takes you 750 feet below the desert ’s aerofoil .
As long as you ’ve pose ripe tramp brake shoe with a immobile traction , you ’ll be in for a treat as you zigzag through the cave ’s panoptic amphitheatre entrance , into the literal Twilight Zone ( the terminal figure used to refer to the portion of the cave where innate spark from the surface dwindles and intermixture with total dark ) , and down through various caverns and speleothems , formed slowly by dripping H2O over the grade of a million years to make stunning formations like stalactite , ribbons , curtains , and hunger - inducing cave “ popcorn ” and cave “ bacon , ” which look precisely how they vocalise .
A tone : As signage points out , this is roughly the combining weight of hiking the Empire State Building , so mentally fix consequently ! And fortunately , if descend the equivalent weight of the Empire State Buildingisn’tyour loving cup of tea , there ’s also an lift that takes invitee both down and up .
The Big Room is lit up so you don’t get big-time lost.|Doug Meek/Corbis Documentary/Getty Images
The Natural Entrance Trail , like all other self - direct lead , is illuminated by periodical lamp ( ya know , so you do n’t jar head - first into the200,000 - ton Iceberg Rock ) , and it culminates at theBig Room Trail .
If there ’s one thing you do in Carlsbad Caverns , make it this 1.25 - mile loop through a chamber so massive and stunning that it ’ll blow your judgement whether it ’s your first sojourn or your fifteenth . The largest cave chamber on the continent — freehanded enough to host the Super Bowl — it ’s been dub “ The Grand Canyon with a Roof Over It . ”
One glimpse at this spectacular subterranean wonderland will show you why : At nearly 4,000 - feet long and 625 - invertebrate foot broad , it ’s a mostly flat , wheelchair - accessible term of enlistment de strength of cave formations with whimsical names like Rock of Ages , Giant Dome , Painted Grotto , and Fairyland . Along the way , you ’ll pass lechatelierite - clear cave pools and wooden ladder dangling into eery black pit , and you half expect Gollum to scamper out at any mo .
Sunny landscapes are nice too, I guess.|Sean Pavone/Shutterstock
Beyond the show - stopping Big Room , if you want to explore more of the cave , you ’ll postulate to join a ranger - guide tour to see other , more versed bedroom likeKing ’s castle , Left Hand Tunnel , orHall of the White Giant . At .75 international nautical mile of flat terrain and wide - undetermined space , King ’s Palace is the prosperous and least daunting , while Left Hand Tunnel is a blast from the past tense , with visitor carrying lantern and experiencing what the caves are like in total dark . TheLower Cave touris a deeper and more strenuous variant of the lantern - dismount Left Hand Tunnel on 1.2 miles of unpaved trail . For the really adventuresome , Hall of the White Giant mean crawling through tight passageway , climbing ladder , and squeezing through formations like Matlock ’s Pinch .
Make time for fun above ground
If the idea of spelunk deep beneath the Earth ’s control surface makes you shiver , you ’ll find claustrophobia - free alternatives on the control surface . While the underground cave justifiedly get most of the attention at Carlsbad Caverns , the park actually has some 50 miles deserving of tramp track through the Chihuahuan Desert , and considering a bulk of visitant vamoose justly to the cavern , you ’re likely to have them all to yourself .
Trails range from light and well-to-do ( Walnut Canyon Overlook ) , to moderate ( Lower Rattlesnake Canyon ) , to masochistic marathons ( the100 - air mile Guadalupe Ridge Trail , which connectsGuadalupe Mountains National Parkwith the eastern entrance of Carlsbad Caverns National Park for one epic desert thru - hike ) .
And when you unavoidably get hungry — whether post - spelunking or post - hike — Carlsbad Caverns Visitor Centerhas one of the ripe visitor center dining options in the National Park Service , with cafeteria - elan breakfast and luncheon point that go above and beyond by sourcing most ingredients locally for the ilk of Hatch chile quesadillas and barbeque tortas .
The cave also has a small cafe just outside of the lift bay , with basic collation items , drink , and sandwiches . hope us : There ’s really something particular about eating a yogurt parfait 750 - metrical unit beneath the Earth ’s surface in the bowels of North America ’s quintessential bat cave .
This Little-Known State Park Has Over a Dozen Caves to Explore
In case you need to subterranean escape from it all.
What to know before you go
Like any interior park , conservation and protection of the born environs are of the furthermost importance . In a fragile ecosystem like Carlsbad Caverns , this primarily concerns the delicacy of the cave formations and its winged occupant . This is why cameras , lightness , and noise are strictly forbidden during bat flights : to secure the comforter and refuge of the animals , and to ensure they do n’t desolate the park for quieter confines .
Another crucial matter tobe mindful of is White - Nose Syndrome , a lethal fungus that ’s kill trillion of bats across the US . Though harmless to humans , you’re able to easily transfer the fungus into Carlsbad Caverns if you ’ve confab another cave recently . That ’s why it ’s strongly recommended you do n’t fag out shoes you ’ve worn into another cave or at least exhaustively disinfect and lave the soles of said place .
It ’s also authoritative to protect the cave by not bear on its wall . The oil on your peel can have eroding and discoloration on cave walls , altering the rude appendage of formation . likewise , do n’t throw coins ( or anything else ) into cave pools — keep your wishes for a fountain . As sturdy , firm , and bouncy as this underground region might seem , it ’s all too easily impress by mankind and foreign elements , so tread carefully and leave it better than you found it .
Where to stay near Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Whether you ’re hoping to camp , park an RV , or stay in a cabin or hotel , there are plenitude of deposit options in and around the park . naive backcountry campingis the only alternative inside the park , though there ’s asmall campground and RV parkjust outside the park ingress in White ’s City .
Most of the creature comforts will be find in the nearbycity of Carlsbad , where campgrounds , Airbnbs , inns , and hotels ( includingbudget - friendly irons ) abound . For a boutique option , The Trinity Hotelis your best wager . It ’s a gorgeous , historical , brick - drape building that first dish out as a bank building in 1892 , and has since been change over into an intimate lodge with nine rooms and an all - day restaurant catapult costa - eye steaks , manicotti , and chicken Marsala , along with New Mexican wine and beer .
