Carved out of the solid limestone of Capitan Reef by eons of dripping water, the Carlsbad Caverns contain over 30 miles of underground caves, some over 1,000 feet across. A mile-long trail drops steeply from the large visitors center; or you can board an elevator and ride 750 feet straight down to the “Big Room,” where the floor area totals more than eight acres. After wandering among the countless stalactites, stalagmites, and other formations, you can chow down on cheeseburgers at a classic 1950s-style cafeteria. Everyone has to ride the elevator back to the surface. There are also a number of longer guided tours available ($7–20; 800/967-2283), if you want to explore some of the more delicate features of the caverns, or clamber around through more-confined reaches of the caves.
The trail down to the Big Room closes early in the afternoon (usually around 3 pm) so that visitors don’t interrupt the increasingly popular spectacle of the “Bat Flight,” in which hundreds of thousands of Mexican freetail bats swirl out of the caverns at sunset. Every evening (usually around 7 pm, except in winter when the bats have migrated to Mexico), rangers give a brief free talk about bats—proselytizing about how really great and harmless they are—while waiting for them to set off into the night.
The nearest places to stay and eat are in Whites City (505/785-2291 or 800/228-3767), a historic complex of motels, restaurants, pinball arcades, and souvenir shops along Hwy-180 at the turnoff to the park. Amidst all the tourist clutter of Whites City is the Million Dollar Museum ($3), a bizarre but captivating collection of old typewriters, Texas Longhorns, and the mummified remains of what’s labeled an “Alien Baby”. (Roswell is just down the road, remember.)
