11 Epic Highlights of Carlsbad Caverns That’ll Change How You See Caves Forever

11 Remarkable Sights Within Carlsbad Caverns

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico is home to one of the most incredible cave systems in America. 

But you don’t need to be a professional explorer to see everything up close. You’ll find most of the amazing features right off the main paths, making it perfect for anyone curious enough to venture underground.

 Here are 11 things you need to experience during your visit.

The Big Room

The Big Room is the largest cave chamber in the United States. 

This massive cave formed about 250 million years ago when the area was underwater. Over time, a chemical reaction between water and rock slowly carved out this huge underground room. Think of it as an underground space big enough to hold 6.2 football fields. 

Today, you can walk through a path that stretches 1.25 miles. The ceiling towers 78 meters above you, about as tall as a 25-story building. Along the way, you’ll see the Giant Dome, a tall rock formation that grew from the ground up, reaching 62 feet. You’ll also pass the Bottomless Pit, which looks exactly like it sounds (it’s 140 feet deep). 

The cave now has bright LED lights, making it easy to see without harming the environment or yourself. The entire path is smooth and paved, making it accessible for everyone, including people in wheelchairs. You’ll even come across touch screens that describe the rock formations along the path. 

Pro tip: Download special apps to see what the cave looked like millions of years ago.

Natural Entrance Trail

Imagine walking into a giant hole in the ground and ending up in an underground world. 

That’s what the Natural Entrance Trail feels like from start to end. This steep path drops 750 feet, about the height of a 75-story building. The trail is 1.25 miles long and takes you down into the main cave system first.

As you walk further down, you’ll pass through an area called the Twilight Zone. It’s the last place where sunlight reaches into the cave. After that, complete darkness except for the cave’s lights. 

The trail now has rest stops with benches every quarter-mile, so you can take breaks whenever. Most use their phones to listen to a guide explain everything you see in the surroundings. 

If you’re too tired to walk, don’t worry. There’s an that takes you back to the surface, easy peezy. 

Bat Flight Program

Where there’s a cave, there’s Batman (not literally). 

Every evening from May to October, more than 400,000 bats fly out of the cave to hunt for food. These Brazilian free-tailed bats are small, about the size of your hand but all together they create an impressive sight.

The park built a new viewing area last year that accommodates about 1,000 people. You’ll get special night-vision cameras to enjoy close-up views of the bats on the big screen. 

The best time to visit though is in August and September. It’s that time of the year when baby bats join the group. Park rangers give talks about the species every night, and you can use special equipment to hear their high-pitched sounds in the dark. Super eerie but for a wildlife lover, it’s exciting and engaging. 

King’s Palace Tour

King’s Palace is the deepest part of the cave, open to visitors and about 253 meters underground. 

That’s like going down an 84-story building. A park ranger leads this hour-and-a-half tour, taking you through four highly decorated chambers with some of the cave’s most unique geology. 

You’ll see thin sheets of rock that look like curtains hanging from the ceiling and a pool of green water in the Green Lake Room. The park also offers special virtual reality headsets that let you see parts of the cave that are too delicate or dangerous to visit in person. 

The tour now uses better lighting, and you can book your spot up to six months in advance.

Slaughter Canyon Cave Tour

This tour takes you to a rugged, undeveloped part of the cave system, which was discovered in the 1930s. 

The cave is known for its dazzling Christmas tree-like column and a rimstone dam. including the Monarch, one of the world’s tallest columns at 89 feet high. 

But be warned, it’s a tough 5.5-hour trip with no electric lights or paved paths. It’s not called Slaughter Canyon for nothing. There’s literally no modern convenience here. 

You’ll need a headlamp to see and climb the ladders, just like early explorers did in the good old days. You’ll hike 2 miles round trip to the cave entrance. Before you go, you’ll watch a new safety video added in 2025 to make sure you’re prepared for the adventure.

Note: Only 8 people can go on each tour, and you have to be at least 12 years old. 

Hall of the White Giant Tour

Gear up real thrill-seekers because this four-hour guided tour takes you back to the 1940s. It’ll give you a taste of what it’s like to be a real cave explorer, pushing your limits in one of the most unique environments on Earth.

For one, you’ll crawl through tight spaces (as narrow as 19 inches) and climb rocks to see a huge white rock formation called the White Giant. It’s a challenging walk, about a mile, that travels through pretty slippery cave passages. 

And you have to be at least 13 years old to do this tour. What’s the latest? In 2025, they’ve added new safety harnesses for the most challenging climbing parts.

Left Hand Tunnel Tour

You’ll get views of 1800 century old lanterns, candlelight, and less crowds in this calming 2-hour walking tour. 

You’ll see fossilized bat guano (it’s what gives scientists all the info they need about the cave’s past environment) and delicate formations that have taken thousands of years to form. 

The Left Hand Tunnel was one of the first areas explored beyond the main cavern and offers a glimpse into the cave’s vast network of passages. Even kids as young as 6 can go on this dirt trail.

This year, they’ve added new pit stops where you can learn more about the cave’s geology. The lesson about sulfuric acid dissolution is very cool, a rare process that makes Carlsbad Caverns unique among the world’s caves.

Underground Lunchroom

Welcome to an underground lunchroom 750 feet within the chasms of Carlsbad. 

This tour revolves around a cool 1950s-style cafe inside the cave that first opened in 1928. It was later remodeled in the 1950s harnessing the efficiency of food production and distribution systems.

It’s located in the Big Room and was designed to make the caverns more accessible. You can get sandwiches or salads and enjoy a meal amidst these cave formations. This controversial national treasure stays open from 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM every day. 

Fun addition: This year, they’ve added more food options to accommodate people with different diets, including vegetarian and gluten-free choices. While you eat, you can check out new displays that teach you about the cave’s ecosystem and its unusual biodiversity of creepy crawlies.

Guadalupe Ridge Trail

The Guadalupe Ridge Trail is a 100-mile walk that takes you above the cave system, connecting Carlsbad Caverns to Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas. But some sections get pretty intense, with climbs and dips over some seriously rugged terrain. 

You’ll pass through a variety of landscapes, from the dry Chihuahuan Desert to mixed coniferous forests, and even riparian woodlands before the trail takes you out of the national park and into the Lincoln National Forest. As you’re hiking, keep an eye out for cave swallows,  large colonies of these migratory birds nest in Carlsbad Cavern and at the Natural Entrance. 

In 2025, there’s a new app that helps you navigate the trail and learn about interesting spots along the way, including information about the geology and how it relates to the cave system below.

Latest Update: Currently in Carlsbad Caverns National Park the Guadalupe Ridge Trail from the visitor center to the west park boundary) is closed due to flood damage. But the Old Guano Trail remains open.

Night Sky Programs

Carlsbad Caverns is far from city lights and was designated as an International Dark Sky Park in 2017. This means you can see thousands of stars, the Milky Way, and even other galaxies with the naked eye. 

On Friday and Saturday nights from May to October, you can simply join a stargazing program that connects the underground world of the caves with the vast universe above.

Rangers will help you use telescopes and tell you about the constellations. They’ll also share stories about how different cultures, including the native Mescalero Apache, studied astronomy. 

In 2025, they’ve got an upgrade featuring new, powerful telescopes that let you see even more distant objects in space.

Dawn of the Bats

Here’s a free tour featuring bats (and it’s less known so the crowds are thinner). 

If you’re an early riser, you can watch the bats return to the cave at sunrise annually on the third Saturday of July from the Bat Flight Amphitheater. But electronic devices are not allowed at the event so be prepared. 

Here’s something you probably didn’t know: Each bat can eat up to half its body weight in insects every night, playing a crucial role in the local ecosystem. 

Witness thousands of bats swirling back into the cave after a night of hunting insects. This morning spectacle offers a unique perspective on the daily rhythm of the bat colony and how they’ve shaped the cave system over thousands of years. 

A new observation deck has also been added this year, designed to give you the best view while protecting the bats’ habitat.