The Carlsbad Caverns In New Mexico Are An Otherworldly Experience

I’m almost certain that there comes a time in everyone’s life when they are longing to escape this common surface life that we experience – even if just for a moment – to find out what else is out there and expand our imagination. How can you do this while in New Mexico? Visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

How Were The Carlsbad Caverns Formed?

A National Park history brochure shares: “Carlsbad Caverns are openings made by water in a massive rock known as the Carlsbad limestone. This limestone was formed originally in a shallow inland extension of the ocean some 200 million years ago—in the Permian period, which followed the time of greatest coal forming throughout the world. After this period the area was dry land, but it may have been resubmerged and covered by sediments at a later period.

The uplifting and folding movements that formed the Rocky Mountains also raised the Carlsbad area above sea level. The Guadalupe Mountains near Carlsbad are outliers of that great mountain system. The uplift of the region took place about the end of the ‘Age of Dinosaurs’ (Cretaceous period)—some 60 million years ago. Since that time the streams have carved their deep gorges, the vast caverns have been hollowed in the limestone, and within them, the amazing decorative deposits were formed.

The repeated movements of the region made numerous joint cracks or fissures in the massive Carlsbad limestone, and a portion of the rain water that enters the ground has found its way along many of these crevices. The beginnings of the caverns as small crevices date from the entrance of this first percolating water.” Read the full report here.

What To Do In The Carlsbad Caverns

At the park you can take a self-guided tour or schedule one with a ranger from the park. Audio tours are also available, and parts of the caverns are accessible by wheelchair. The best place to get current conditions and information about the park is on their website. You can also learn about the Carlsbad Caverns unique history there as well!

Take A Self Guided Tour Of The Carlsbad Caverns

If you are able to and decide to start your own self-guided tour at the Natural Entrance, you’ll find yourself descending some 800 feet in one mile. The experience of walking down the paved steps and paths to the Big Room, or taking the elevator down, will have you some 79 stories down. What will you find at the bottom?

Discover Weird And Wonderful Formations In The Carlsbad Caverns

Well, some weird but wonderful earthly formations are what await you. Beacon says: “Carlsbad Caverns are a subterranean maze where water steadily shapes otherworldly cave formations — bearing names like icicles, icebergs, draperies, witch’s finger and lion’s tail (and which look uncannily like their monikers). Carlsbad has all of those, plus frozen waterfalls, strands of pearls, organ pipes, cookies, sponges, totem poles, miniature castles, bulging veins and more.”

Swing Over To Guadalupe National Park

If you’re hitting up Carlsbad Caverns on your National Parks tour, be sure to swing over the Texas boarder to Guadalupe National Park for a hike after you’ve ventured into the underground. It’s a great way to get a completely different perspective after spending time underneath the Earth’s surface. There, you can climb to the highest peak in Texas.

Where To Camp For Free While Visiting Carlsbad Caverns (Or Guadalupe National Park)

While visiting these incredible places on a budget, it’s helpful to know a solid place to park, camp, and sleep for free. Sunset Reef Park lies just off of US Highway 62 on a dirt road that is accessible for almost all vehicles. (The ground is a bit bumpy, so if you have a lower-riding vehicle, drive slow!) You’ll know it’s time to turn off of the highway when you see a large “Washington Ranch” sign. Turn onto Washington Ranch Road. The campground is a big parking lot with covered picnic areas and a toilet. Please note that there are no hookups or water sources here!

Have you been to Carlsbad Caverns before? Tell us about your experience in the comments below!

Traveling the USA to visit the national parks? View our guides to a handful of national parks here.