Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a
United States National Park located inthe
Guadalupe Mountains in southeastern
New Mexico.The primary attraction of the park for most visitors is the
show cave,
Carlsbad Caverns. Visitors to the cave can hike in on their own via the natura lentrance, or take the elevator (the exit for everyone) directly down to the Underground Lunchroom some 750 feet (230 m) below.
The "Big Room" - the largest chamber in CarlsbadCaverns - has an estimated floor space of 55,740m2 (600,000 sq ft)- an area comparable to 14 football fields.
The Kings Palace tour, a 1.5-hour ranger-guided tour through four highly decorated chambers, departs from the underground rest area. You will descend to the deepest portion of the cavern open to the public, 830 feet beneath the desert surface. Although not as difficult as the Natural Entrance route, this 1-mile tour does require descending, and later climbing, an 8-story hill. Look forward to viewing a variety of cave formations including helictites, draperies, columns, and soda straws. Rangers frequently conduct black-outs during this tour, briefly turning off all artificial lights to reveal the natural darkness of the cave.
The cave climate is cool and varies little from the annual 56°F (13°C) average temperature. A light jacket or sweater, and comfortable shoes with rubber soles for good traction are appropriate year-round.
