Snapshot Planning Your VisitWhen we visited the park We visited the park at the end of March. If you are only visiting the caverns for the tour, it doesn't really matter what time of year you visit. The temperature in the cave remains the same year-round, at 56 degrees fahrenheit. If you plan to do hiking around the park, the summer months are going to be really hot, and you will want to do morning hikes. In March, it was windy and hot, but evening hikes were also comfortable.  weather-us.com Things to Consider 1. The first thing to know is, arriving at the caverns earlier than later will help you enjoy the hike more. They close the caverns down at 2:30pm and the elevators are closed down then too. If you plan to hike the natural entrance, and then take the elevators up, just make sure you have enough time to do this. 2. You. need a timed-entry ticket in addition to the park entrance fee. The America the Beautiful pass will wave some of cost. Book this ticket early! 3. There is no lodging available here, and in the off season, there are even more limited options. Plan on a daytrip here, or look into lodging options early. 4. It is humid in the caves and visitor center, even though the temperature stays about 56 degrees fahrenheit. Dressing in layers is a good idea. 5. If you plan to hike any of the trails, bring extra water and hike early morning or evenings.  How to Get There Carlsbad Caverns are located about 15 minutes south of Carlsbad, NM and about 2 1/2 hours from El Paso, TX. Once you get to Whites City, you will enter the park and drive up the canyon to the caverns. From Carlsbad, NM Head south on National Parks Highway (Hwy 62). Turn right onto Carlsbad Cavern Highway (Hwy 7). Follow this up the canyon to the Visitor Center and caverns. From El Paso, TX Head east on Montana Avenue (Hwy 62) for about 135 miles. Turn left on Carlsbad Cavern Highway (Hwy 7). Follow this up the canyon to the Visitor Center and caverns. Additional Maps Provided by the Park Where to Stay There is no lodging inside this national park or camping grounds available. There are some options for backcountry camping with a permit. The nearest lodging accommodations are Whites City Cavern Inn, at the base of the park. Carlsbad is the next options for lodging, about 15 minutes north of the park. There are more food options here as well. We went to Guadalupe Mountain Brewing Company, and would highly recommend it!  What We Did We did not spend much time here, with our main goal to hike through the caverns. This is a pretty remote park to access, with limited lodging and amenities. We arrived around 12:30pm, and enjoyed a slow drive up to the caverns. Along the way we saw wildlife and desert plant life. We pulled off the road at Arc Site and looked at some of the naturally carved out rocks. We continued up the canyon to the caverns. At the caverns, we checked in for our self-guided tour of the Cavern. Remember to bring your park pass to waive some of the fees for your tour. If you have the America the Beautiful pass, bring that along to check in. We then headed north of the visitor center to get to the Natural Entrance. If you are going down in the elevators, they are also located at the north end of the building. It was a short walk to the entrance, where a ranger will give your group the rules and expectations for your time in the caves. We then proceeded to the Bat Amphitheater, which would be very cool to experience live entertainment at. When we got to the natural entrance, you quickly begin your descent into the cave. It is about 1.25 miles to the elevators from the natural entrance, and mostly downhill. You can hike back, but if you plan to take the elevators up to the gift shop, plan on about a 1 hour hike. You can hurry it along and make it in about 45 minutes if needed, but there is so much to take in, so try to plan to take your time. The cave is about 56 degrees year-round, but it can be humid. Make sure to bring layers to adjust as needed. The hike through the cave is really all one way until you get to the Big Room, then you can walk around different areas there. They all lead to the elevators though, or you can hike back to the Natural Entrance. After 2:30pm, the only way to exit the cave is to hike back up to the Natural Entrance. That hike would be much more rigorous, because it is mostly uphill. After our time in the caves, we got some food from concessions, and then headed to our hotel at Whites City Cavern Inn. The kids were very anxious to spend time in the pool there. We also explored the campground across the street. The kids went on an evening hike there on the Old Guana Road Trail. They had fun chasing lizards here and watching the sunset. We also got food from Cactus Cafe, next door in the morning. They have limited hours and are not open for dinner, so make sure you check before you plan on it. After breakfast, we moved on to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, about 30 minutes away. Where this fit in our Road Trip This was the third stop on our road trip, after we went to White Sands National Park. It was about a 4 hour drive from White Sands to get here. We stopped in Roswell for lunch and alien merch (my husband is obsessed with alien conspiracies). We only spent a day here before we headed to Guadalupe Mountains National Park and then on to Big Bend National Park. NPS App and All Trails Maps I highly recommend using the National Park Service (NPS) App, as well as the All Trails App for hiking. There is limited service in the park, so planning ahead is helpful. These two apps allow you to download sights, maps, and trails so that you can access information anywhere. The NPS app also links to the full National Parks Website, with a plethora of information.
Don't forget to follow along on Instagram @wanderlust_with_three
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
RSS Feed