Carlsbad Caverns

I went when I was a little kid and it was already very touristy ~ it's a neat place, but not much adventure (crowded, big pathways, etc.) - I can only imagine that it's worse now.

 

same here, I am guessing the guided tours that get you off the main tourist route might be a little better, but i can't see than spending more than a day there then getting underway.

 

Here's an old picture of my Dad at Carlsbad - as you can see pretty tame ~ nothing like Natural bridge caverns...

 

I went about 7 years ago. It was cool. There's really only one path that you can take through the cave, (which is huge by the way) If I remember, a normal trot through the cave is supposed to take 3 or 4 hours. We did it much quicker, about 2 hours. If you don't stop at every little formation and stare for 15 min, then it doesn't take all day or anything. If you can wait till the sun goes down, you'll get to see about 50 million bats fly out of the opening. It's amazing. Just don't look up.

Oh, and be sure to cover your nose when you enter the thing. The bat poo smell is overwhelming, but once you get inside, it goes away. Guano anyone?

 

its an amazing place. ive been twice. i wouldnt necessarily drive all the way out there just to see them, but if you are passing by its definately worth a visit. i spent a couple hours there both times. like someone mentioned, you can do guided tours that take longer, but i was satisfied with the self guided tour.

roswell is about 2 hours north and its a pretty cool little side trip. very silly and kitchy, but the alien museum is interesting. all the streetlamps in town have alien heads for lamps.

there is a great place to camp about a half hour north of carlsbad called brantley lake state park. very nice place.

 

I've been to Carlsbad several times; only once into the Caverns themselves. You can probably do most of the cavern stuff in a day. Sometimes they have off-the-beaten-track tours; check ahead for the schedule. The main part is touristy and developed (myself, I like it that way - going into a hole in the ground makes me nervous enough as it is - but your mileage may vary). There are hiking trails around the area, though summer isn't the best time to do it.

Most of my trips to Carlsbad have been to appease someone who likes the Guadalupe Mountains a lot. In terms of nature, etc., that's kind of interesting. They're actually in Texas but Carlsbad is still the closest town... if you keep going past the Caverns, you cross the state line and then you're there. Hiking trails of all lengths and difficulties (not quite as hot since you're in the mountains) and a couple of little historic buildings.

Carlsbad is still the closest city to stay in. (Avoid "White's City". It's a tourist trap.) Carlsbad is relatively cheap. The Dairy Queen has different food than the usual... their own recipes for green chile burgers and also real BBQ. Roswell is kind of interesting for the alien decor and museum, especially if you haven't seen it before.

 

I went to Carlsbad back in 96, it was very interesting. Make sure you have a good pair of shoes too. We ate at the restaurant thats a mile underground then took the elevator back up.

 

Ditto everything here. Although when the bats came out, it wasn't that great, IMO. I really enjoyed Carlsbad -- was there about 7 yrs ago also. We went sort of slowly through, and had a great time looking at all of the formations and just sort of enjoying the experience. I think it's a worthwhile sight.

 

I've never heard anyone say, "Man, I just had the best time at the caverns."

So, my philosophy is see some caverns that are close by once and never do it again. I got my fill at the Natural Bridge Caverns. It was cool, but I don't need to see them twice.

 

Man, I had the best time at the caverns . . .

 

I really like the Guadalupe Mountains. If you like hiking...that's a great destination. I took my Dad there before he died and we had some great memories from that.

 

In the summer of 1972 some friends and I went on a post freshman year trip driving to LA and back. We were going to stop at Caverns on Day 2 so about an hour out I took some LSD. We drove and drove and drove up the winding road to the park with great anticipation but when we got there it was closed...so off we went to Las Vegas. Since I was up, I drove all night while my 2 friends and dog slept. I listened to ZZ Top's Rio Grande Mud over and over in head phones. When we got to Hoover dam I turned to my friends to say "wake up we're at the Hoover Dam" , they jumped up like they had been shot at. It turns out had made myself stone deaf and was screaming at them. My ears still ring to this day.

So you kids, stay in school and don't do drugs.

uh. I never went back to Carlsbad Caverns, but I have spent a lot of time Ruidosa though and it is a great little tourist town, with a very good golf course at the Indian hotel and casino. It would be an easy add-on to your caverns trip. Cloudcroft is a scenic little bed and breakfast town, they have a funky/neat little 9 hole course too that's like 9,000 feet abot sea level.

 

I went to Carlsbad Caverns in November about 5 years ago. If you can go in November, do it as you will be practically the only one there. It seemed as if we had the caverns to ourselves.

For six bucks you can go on the self-guided tour which is in two parts and is pretty long. There is a concession stand with elevators to the top in the middle so you can do the two halves over a weekend if you want to (you can easily do both parts in a day but there's probably about a mile of walking in each section).

You have to pay the $6 for the self-guided tour but then you can also go on several guided tours (for more money). We did the lower caverns and it was pretty cool. They take you down some ladders to parts of the caverns that are not developed (no permanent paths). It's not caving as you can comfortably walk most of it (I think we had to crawl just once and only for a little bit) but you do need a miner's light and old jeans.

We stayed in Carlsbad at a motel and spent two days at the caverns.

That trip was part of a longer road trip my wife, dog and I took from Houston to the Grand Canyon and back.

You can see pictures here. Note: This was one of the first web pages I had done so it's kind of cheesy. Also, the pictures were taken on a cheap instamatic and then scanned.

 

Went several times as a kid, but we lived in El Paso so it was just a day trip for us. Beats the hell out of Natural Bridge Caverns, IMHO.

Also went once with a smallish group to a side cavern there. We had to climb up into the mountains, dress properly (boots, jeans, etc), bring our own flashlights, etc. There weren't any pre-made paths either, lotsa fun. I'm not sure how you go about setting one of those up, though...

 

hehe I have the same story but we got to go into the cave, it was interesting to say the least!

I lived in Eastern New Mexico for 4 years, hightlights are Carlsbad Caverns, Roswell UFO museums, Ruidoso, White Sands, and that is about it!

They open the Trinity Site (first Atomic explosion) twice a year, I'm not sure which days but that is a cool trip as well

speaking of Roswell, Foo Fighters are shooting a video there in a couple of weeks, filming in the hanger where the 1947 UFO was supposed to have been held. I'm not going to be able to go, but my son is going. It is a special invite only thing and a good friend of mine is the morning radio DJ for a station in Roswell and he hooked us up

 

I went with my family in the early 1980's and it was quite cool. I had my headphones on and "Moonlight Sonata" on my Walkman. It was quite a trippy experience (without the acid). The formations are neat, but the bat cave, where you sit outside in this weird stone amphitheater, will make your trip worthwhile. They whistle past your head like bullets and the sound of their wings beating in unison is amazing loud. I did like the Guadalupe Mountains and that desert is something to an Alabama boy used to the pine forests and spacious oaks of the South that was nothing short of amazing. We stayed in Carlsbad and I found it an unusual place, one that I was glad that I was not born in. As far as caves go, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is bigger and better (and not as crowded). Also Lost Sea in Tennessee, a giant underground lake, is cool as well.