Carlsbad Caverns National Park: Must See Highlights

Deep underneath the rugged landscape of southeastern New Mexico is a hidden wonder of astonishing natural beauty—Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Known for its enormous underground chambers, stunning limestone formations, and fascinating geological history, this national park is a bucket-list adventure. It is world-renowned as one of the most accessible and best-preserved national parks.

Visiting Carlsbad Caverns: A Subterranean Wonderland

Carlsbad Caverns was formed millions of years ago when sulfuric acid dissolved the surrounding limestone, creating a vast network of caves. Today, the park contains more than 119 known caves, with the Big Room being its most famous feature. At nearly 4,000 feet long, 625 feet wide, and 255 feet high at its tallest point, the Big Room is the largest underground chamber in North America.

We’ve visited the park several times, in the heat of the summer and most recently during a brutal cold spell in the dead of winter. This park is generally very popular, but not on our last visit. The massive parking lots were nearly empty. There were maybe 15 cars.

We’d reserved an entry pass for the earliest possible time weeks ago and were very excited. It’d been a few years since our last visit. This time, we’d budgeted all day to explore the park.

There are a couple of ways to get into the cave. You can take the easy way and head straight down via an elevator, or you can go the Natural Entrance Route. I highly recommend taking the latter.

Natural Entrance at Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

The Natural Entrance Route into Carlsbad Caverns

Something is humbling about walking into the earth instead of climbing above it—trading sweeping mountaintop vistas for cathedral-sized chambers carved in darkness.

The self-guided Natural Entrance is the traditional way to enter the caverns and was the only way until elevators were installed in the 1930s. The trail starts at the Bat Flight Amphitheater. The view from the top is one of the classic photos of Carlsbad Caverns. Switchback after switchback lead straight down into the large historic natural entrance. The trail is paved, but it is also very steep, even with the switchbacks. The smell from bat and bird feces can be a bit strong —just a heads-up.

Bat Cave

A 200 feet below the surface after all of the seemingly endless switchbacks, you come to the bat cave. From April through October, at dusk, thousands of Brazilian free-tailed bats make their way out of this part of Carlsbad Caverns for a nightly spectacular show. From here you continue down the trail deeper into the caverns.

Devil’s Spring

Devil’s Spring is the first prominent feature you see as you hike down through the natural entrance. This was the first feature that early cave explorer Jim White would have encountered. The then-16-year-old was in the area rounding up cattle in 1898 when he thought he saw a wildfire in the distance. When he went to investigate, he soon realized it was not smoke but thousands upon thousands of bats.

As was to be expected, he was not very comfortable exploring the caverns at first. So many of the first formations’ names reflect his discomfort. He named the first drip pool “Devil’s Spring.” That was followed a little ways down by “Devil’s Armchair,” “Devil’s Den,” and finally the “Witch’s Finger.”

Witches Fingers in Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

Witch’s Finger

Witch’s finger is next, it’s a long, narrow stalagmite that soars up like a totem pole more than 20 feet. It is slightly crooked, hence the name witch’s finger.

Whale’s Mouth

Another striking formation you come to is a flowstone and draperies called Whale’s Mouth. The park has it lit very nicely.

Devil’s Den

At Devil’s Den, you come to another very steep section of switchbacks that quickly descends further into the cave. You are about 500 feet below ground at Devil’s Den.

From here, you continue down through the main corridor of the natural entrance. Along the way, you pass by several other named formations, such as “Baby Hippo” and “Three Monkeys.”

Iceberg Rock

Before too long, you come to “Iceberg Rock,” which weighs about 200,000 tons, and is the most significant piece of ceiling, called a breakdown, to fall in Carlsbad Caverns. You see the backside of it on the Natural Entrance route. To see the whole thing, you have to take the Ranger-guided King’s Palace Tour, which is very much worth the time.

From Iceberg Rock, you head towards the self-guided Big Room Route. It’s impossible to miss, as the King’s Palace route is gated off.

Big Room Tour in Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

Big Room Tour Route

When you come to the Big Room Route junction, you’ve descended about 800 feet in 1.25 miles. The views have already been amazing, but they are about to get better.

Walking through the Big Room at Carlsbad Caverns feels like stepping into the earth’s imagination. This immense underground chamber—one of the largest easily accessible cave rooms in the world—unfolds in dramatic layers of shadow and light, filled with formations that are as much art as nature.

The trail begins with a descent into the cavern on a paved loop, and almost immediately, the sheer scale hits you. The ceiling soars like a stone cathedral, and the silence carries a deep, steady hush broken only by distant drips of water. Along the path, interpretive signs guide you to some of the cavern’s most iconic features, turning the hike into a choose-your-own-pace natural history tour.

Lion’s Tail

Heading counter-clockwise around the loop, you first come to see the “Lion’s Tail” formation on the right. The two stalactites look like they have pom-poms or popcorn at the ends, giving the appearance of a lion’s tail.

Giant and Twin Domes in Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

Hall of Giants: Giant Dome and Twin Domes

Next, you enter the Hall of Giants, where two massive stalagmites—Giant Dome and Twin Domes—rise like colossal stone sentinels. This area is home to some of the cave’s largest formations. You can’t help but feel small as you walk past them. The Giant Dome is more than 60 feet high.

Fairyland

Next, you come to the “Fairyland” formations on the right. It’s a series of popcorn-covered small stalagmites that seemingly form a dense forest of cave formations—a fairyland of sorts.

Temple of the Sun

Continue down the path, and you come to an area named “Temple of the Sun.” Historically, the term “temple of the sun” has been used to refer to a place dedicated to the worship of a deity. When you get your first view of the formation, it’s easy to understand why it got its name. Nothing short of extraordinary. The feature is a large column surrounded by hundreds of stalactites. This area of the Big Room is among the most heavily decorated.

Totem Pole and Caveman in Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

The Caveman and Totem Pole

Next up, A quirky pairing—one formation resembling a stoic stone figure, and another shooting upward like an impossibly tall mineral pillar. Totem pole formations in caves are formed by a single drip of water, dripping in the same spot for many, many years. The named formation, Totem Pole, is one of the most prominent features in the back half of the Big Room.

The Chandelier

Hanging from the ceiling near the Caveman and Totem Pole, look up to take in a view of “The Chandelier.” The formation is an impressive group or large stalactites

Lower Cave View and Ladder in Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

View of the Lower Cave

As you approach the view of the lower cave, keep an eye out to the right. You will see an old fence wire and a stick ladder. Jim White, the first American explorer of Carlsbad, made it. It was used in 1924 by a National Geographic expedition into the lower cave. Looking at the old make-shift ladder, I can’t wrap my head around what it must have been like to dangle above a pitch black pit below.

You can take a guided tour of the Lower Cave, but thankfully, they have installed better, safer ladders.

Mirror Lake

After enjoying the view of the lower cave, you work your way along the back wall of the Big Room. Soon, you will come to one of our favorite parts of the cave, “Mirror Lake.” The view here is not only one of the best in the cave, but it’s one of our very favorite views in all national parks. It looks like something out of a dream. It is so amazingly pretty.

Bottomless Pit

Just past Mirror Lake, you come to the Bottomless Pit, which early explorers believed to plunge into infinity. While it does not go to infinity, we now know it is about 140 feet deep, and it remains an eerie, imagination-stirring sight.

Crystal Spring Bell in Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

Crystal Springs Dome

A little way down the trail, you come to the Crystal Springs Dome, one of the most pristine and active formation in the cave, gleaming like a polished candle-wax tower under carefully aimed lights. It is one of the most photogenic formations—glistening and smooth, as if it were coated in flowing water down its side.

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is a monumental column that looks like a stone organ pipe stretching from floor to ceiling. Rangers once held lantern-lit concerts here, letting the acoustics roll through the darkness.

From the viewing area, you not only see the Rock of Ages formation, but also get sweeping views of the Big Room. From the top of the hill, you can see the Hall of Giants, the Temple of the Sun, the Chandelier, and the Crystal Spring Dome.

Dolls Theater

After leaving Rock of Ages, you pass Longfellow’s Bathtub, a large, deep cave pool. Soon, you come upon Dolls Theater, which is small but incredibly impressive. The Doll’s Theater is home to an extensive collection of soda straw stalactites and columns. These tiny formations are incredibly fragile.

Chinese Theater

Next up is the Chinese Theater formation. Here, delicate stalagmites and stalactites have connected to form columns, while others are still seemingly reaching towards each other.

From here, you pass through the Jim White Tunnel on your way to a decision. There are two ways to get out of the cave: the same way you came in, about 800 feet, and 1.25 miles out the Natural Entrance and its leg-busting switchbacks.

Or you can take the elevator for a one-minute ride to the top at the visitor center.

Regardless, when you finally emerge into daylight, blinking and adjusting to the sun again, it’s hard not to feel humbled. Carlsbad Caverns isn’t just a place you visit—it’s a world you descend into, wander through, and carry in your imagination long after you’re back above ground.