Ever since John and I met, he really wanted to visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park. He put it on his bucket list, and anytime we were in New Mexico, he would look at me with expectant eyes and ask if this were the trip he would get to see Carlsbad Caverns finally? Unfortunately, we never made the trip as I am from Northern New Mexico, and Carlsbad Caverns is located in Southeastern New Mexico; at least a five-hour trip, too long of a drive for a quick weekend visit. When we set off to live full-time in our RV, I promised I would make all John’s dreams of visiting Carlsbad Caverns come true!

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Getting There

After we were in Big Bend National Park, I figured we were in the neighborhood as Carlsbad Caverns was less than our 300-mile-drive-a-day rule. I need to warn anyone taking the same route, the drive from Big Bend to Carlsbad is LONG, reasonably dull, and fuel stops are few and far between. You are driving through the heart of West Texas and the Permian Basin, which means it is Oil Country. You will see a lot of oil rigs, oil trucks, and flat, dry land. We drove through a few dust storms on our drive. And then when you get to the town of Carlsbad, it isn’t the most exciting little town. But I promise the drive is well worth the effort when you visit the actual caverns.

If you fly to Carlsbad Caverns, El Paso is a 2.5-hour drive, and Albuquerque is a 4.5-hour drive. The quickest way to Carlsbad Caverns for those short on time is to fly into Roswell, NM, only a 1.5-hour drive. But Roswell is a small regional airport, and there is only one flight from Dallas through American. Either way, you come; know Carlsbad Caverns is a little remote and takes a little planning.

Where to Stay while visiting Carlsbad Caverns

We researched where to stay in Carlsbad; there are several RV parks in the area. We use RV Trip Wizard for all our campground stays and route planning. I like this app as it also features campground reviews and RV GPS guidance through RV Life. When searching for a campground, be sure to read the reviews, as many parks in the area are geared more towards oil rig workers. We have nothing against oil rig workers, but it’s not the vibe we want for our family as they leave for work early mornings, and generally, those parks don’t have much for kids to do. Any park you choose in the area don’t expect a lot of grass or shade, as it’s just not conducive to this part of the country.

We stayed at Carlsbad RV Park & Campground located in the southern part of town. The owners are working hard to update this park, and it is the only park in the area that features some grass. Most camp spots featured large pull-throughs, great for a quick overnight stay. The park is connected to an RV service garage next door, and their gift shop had quite a few RV supplies, more than most parks offer. We stayed during two super rainy and practically had the whole place to ourselves.

Other options of places to stay

If you pick a park near the Caverns south of town, you could also hit up a visit to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The KOA is located north of Carlsbad, outside of town, and quite a drive to visit Carlsbad Caverns. We had friends who boondocked on BLM land (no full hooks up) and loved staying at Sunset Reef Campground. If you are boondockers, be sure to check out Campdendium for all BLM/dispersed camping areas.

There are several newer hotels in Carlsbad if hotel stays are more your thing. Our campground was near a new La Quinta Inn & Suites and a Hyatt property. Check out the best hotel deals for visiting Carlsbad Caverns here.

Be sure to get a ticket to visit Carlsbad Caverns

With Covid-19, many National Parks have gone to a reservation system this summer to help monitor the number of visitors. To be able to get into to visit Carlsbad Caverns, you will need to book a ticket reservation. You can book a reservation on Recreation.gov, and if you have purchased a ticket from the site, you will need to set up an account first. Tickets to visit Carlsbad Caverns do cost $1 per person. When making a reservation, you will need to select the date and time for entry. Reservations are for a 1-hour block of time. A 9:30 am entry means you have up until 10:29 to enter the cave, but you can stay in the cave as long as needed.

Timed-entry tickets ONLY reserve a time slot to enter the cave. All park visitors must purchase an entry ticket for $15 or present a valid National Park pass upon arrival. Our family used our America the Beautiful National Park pass which served as our entry fee ticket. Please visit www.nps.gov/cave/planyourvisit/fees.htm for information on entrance passes. 

What to see and do at Carlsbad Caverns:

Self-Guided Tour of the Cave

There are two ways to enjoy the cavern on a Self-Guided Tour – either by elevator, hiking, or both. Visitors may choose to hike the steep one and a quarter-mile paved trail entering through the cavern’s Natural Entrance, which leads them into the spectacular one and a quarter mile Big Room Trail. Alternatively, you can simply take an elevator ride from the visitor center directly to the start of the Big Room Trail. When we visited, due to Covid-19 restrictions, all guests must exit using the elevator.

We hiked the way the mile down to the cave. The hike was a little steep in areas and had many switchbacks. Our four-year-old twins were able to walk with no problems. If you complete all the trails in the cave, the total hike is 3-miles long. We had to take the shortcut in the Big Room as we started to get to the girls’ limits, but we still managed to see most of the cave. Due to Covid-19, the lunchroom and gift shop at the bottom of the cave were closed. We also had to wear masks inside the cave, but it looks like this rule was lifted.

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Kids can earn a Junior Ranger Badge

The girls did earn their Junior Ranger badges at Carlsbad Caverns. We completed their workbooks down in the closed lunchroom by the elevators. They learned so much about the cave formations. Brighton even got good at guessing a few – “mom, that looks like popcorn!” Sure enough, there is a cave formation called popcorn. Daisy loved the lion’s tail and got good at spotting stalactites and stalagmites that were near to forming a column. Once out of the cave, the girls turned in their ranger books.

I love parks where the rangers look at the girls’ work and interact with the kids and have them recite the Jr. Ranger Pledge. So many parks are giving the books with badges and then “deputizing the parents” to give out the badges. But during this Jr. Ranger pledge, it was all John or I could do to keep from laughing. The Park Ranger was behind glass, with a bank teller style microphone, and wore a mask. Any time he talked, he sounded like the teacher on Charlie Brown. The girls looked at me as they couldn’t understand him. It was a funny moment, and they added another National Park badge to their growing collection!

Evening programs at the Caverns

Bats and Carlsbad Caverns are synonymous. Unfortunately, during our visit to Carlsbad Caverns, we didn’t see any bats. We thought we saw bats immediately at the mouth of the cave and felt like the greatest spelunkers of all time! On closer inspection, our “bats” were nesting swallows that live in the mouth of the cave. Our visit in late April was a little early for “bat season,” and with all the rain, a park ranger informed us there wouldn’t be much to see if we came back at night. But if you get to visit Carlsbad Caverns between May and October, be sure to plan a sunset showing to watch the bats fly out of the cave at night. And for visitors 8 and older, you can stay after the bat program and participate in a ranger-led Night Sky hike.

Overall Impression

We had a few of our full-time RV friends visited Carlsbad Caverns several weeks before us. Being from New Mexico, I take great pride in my home state. But as I warned my friends, the area in and around Carlsbad is not the most picturesque. Unless you are in the oil business, the only reason to visit the Carlsbad area is for the Caverns. While above ground doesn’t impress, it’s below ground in the caverns where all the true “gems” are found.

When we visited Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky, John kept asking where the stalactites and stalagmites were? Mammoth is a limestone cave and does not have these types of structures. Carlsbad Caverns has so much wonderment; even a novice spelunker will be amazed. True spelunkers can find more adventurous cave trails to accomplish when the park is fully open after Covid. It’s incredible to think that not all the caves in Carlsbad Caverns have been discovered yet, but with 170 known caves, this is the world’s second most extensive cave system.

BDA Recommended

We give a visit to Carlsbad Caverns a big BDA recommendation! I loved getting to visit the cave with our daughters as I hadn’t been there since I visited with my uncle in second grade. I hope one day, my girls will look back as fondly on their time in the cave as much as I do. And John was able to check off a must-see bucket list item knowing there are always more places to see and more BRIGHT DAIS AHEAD!

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• Visiting Disney World during a pandemic
• South Dakota: America’s Best Kept Secret
• Visiting Yellowstone with Toddlers