Carlsbad Caverns became a national monument in 1923 but was discovered in 1898 by 16 year old Jim White. White explored the cavern with his homemade wire ladder. He named many of the rooms, including the Big Room, Kings Palace, and Green Lake Room. He also named many of the cave’s more prominent formations, such as the Totem Pole, Giant Dome, Bottomless Pit, Fairyland, Iceberg Rock, and Rock of Ages.
You descend down several stories to a crystal maze that is in complete darkness except for minimal light on the trail which highlight geological features.
Our first visit to the park was on MLK Day. We were pleasantly surprised to find that admittance was free. Unfortunately, the park was full of kids, with the day off from school, and their parents. One of the guidelines while at Carlsbad is to speak in a whisper while enjoying the caverns. We didn’t feel that an echo chamber with lots of kids and crying babies would be fun, so we left and came back the next day.
While our visit was not free, I think it was more enjoyable due to the lack of bodies. The ranger told us that they had 2,500 guests during the holiday as opposed the average which is less than half that number.
It was 38 degrees outside, but a balmy and humid 56 degrees in the caves. A nice place to escape the cold and wind for the day.
4 thoughts on “Carlsbad Cavern National Park”
I am sure you made the right decision to wait a day and pay the fee. It is such a beautiful cave. It has been several years since we visited and we really enjoyed the beauty. We were there during the summer so we did see the bats exit…LOTS of bats. We should get our Motor home back next week.
We hope it will look good…it should for #23,000.00. Still not sure what we will do…sell and get a
class C or just keep it and make short trips in it. I hate to think of giving up going to so many great places. But we are in Colorado 5 to 6 months a year so we really do not use it but maybe two times a year. We did take it to CO two years but did not use it but a few times so we do not take it anymore. It is in storage while we are gone. Continue to have fun enjoying the beauty in the US.
Be Well
Sue.. So glad you are getting the MH back. That is one obstacle done with. Now the decision of what to do? Sell/Keep/Replace. UGH…not and easy choice. Let me know what you decide. Coming your way to Houston in Feb. So hope to see you soon. Take care.
Carlsbad is on our list of places to visit. I toured the caves years ago when I grew up in Midland but
I don’t remember much. Photos look amazing!
I think you and Bob would like it. Pretty neat formations and history to this place.