Carlsbad Caverns

Llewtrah381

Llewtrah381

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Llewtrah
We visited the caverns about 8 years ago and really enjoyed the “basic” tour: it was an amazing place.

When we did, we learned about a handful of other tours to different caves within the system that could be taken. We’re headed there in a month or so and I was looking to see if we could book one or two of those tours but I just don’t see them on the website. Has anyone been there recently and can you tell me if they have the tours and how to book them?
 
@Llewtrah381 You can get reserve an entrance time to the caverns on the web ($1 per reservation) at https://www.nps.gov/cave/planyourvisit/fees.htm. It looks like you purchase the actual entrance tickets at the park. We visited three years ago and just showed up without reservations.

NOTE: At the bottom of that webpage, there is a message that says ranger-guided "tours are temporarily suspended until further notice." :( That said, we did a self-guided tour and it was amazing! Also, if you have time, try and see the bats leaving the cavern in the evening. Three years ago they had a ranger-hosted bat flight viewing area that could seat quite a large number of folks. With or without a Ranger, it's great fun!
 
JimBirk said:
At the bottom of that webpage, there is a message that says ranger-guided "tours are temporarily suspended until further notice." :(
Click to expand...
Thanks. I wonder why.

Yeah - the self-guided was amazing. Was hoping to do one of the side tours but it sounds like they’re gone for a while. Disappointing - I remember they were pretty popular when we were there a few years ago.
 
They used to offer a bunch of small group tours to different caves in the Carlsbad system. Looks like the only one being offered now is the lower cave tour, and this has very limited availability.
Look here for description and to book:
www.recreation.gov

Carlsbad Caverns National Park Tours, Carlsbad Caverns National Park - Recreation.gov

Explore Carlsbad Caverns National Park Tours in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico with Recreation.gov. Visitors are able to make Self-Guided Tour reservations at a cost of $1.00 per person. You may view the Summary of Fees. ****In addition to the reservat
www.recreation.gov www.recreation.gov
These go on sale a month in advance, so next available date 10/21 can be reserved in two days.
I did this many years ago, and it was excellent.
Jon
 
They should still have bats for another month, and those tours were good.
 
I also went on a really neat tour there years ago. The “temporary” unavailability has been since Covid….
 
4CornerFlyer said:
They used to offer a bunch of small group tours to different caves in the Carlsbad system. Looks like the only one being offered now is the lower cave tour, and this has very limited availability.
Look here for description and to book:
www.recreation.gov

Carlsbad Caverns National Park Tours, Carlsbad Caverns National Park - Recreation.gov

Explore Carlsbad Caverns National Park Tours in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico with Recreation.gov. Visitors are able to make Self-Guided Tour reservations at a cost of $1.00 per person. You may view the Summary of Fees. ****In addition to the reservat
www.recreation.gov www.recreation.gov
These go on sale a month in advance, so next available date 10/21 can be reserved in two days.
I did this many years ago, and it was excellent.
Jon
Click to expand...
Perfect - thanks. I missed this link.

Luckily, Oct 21 is one of the days we’ll be there although it’s the day we depart. I’ll give it a try.
 
4CornerFlyer said:
They used to offer a bunch of small group tours to different caves in the Carlsbad system. Looks like the only one being offered now is the lower cave tour, and this has very limited availability.
Look here for description and to book:
www.recreation.gov

Carlsbad Caverns National Park Tours, Carlsbad Caverns National Park - Recreation.gov

Explore Carlsbad Caverns National Park Tours in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico with Recreation.gov. Visitors are able to make Self-Guided Tour reservations at a cost of $1.00 per person. You may view the Summary of Fees. ****In addition to the reservat
www.recreation.gov www.recreation.gov
These go on sale a month in advance, so next available date 10/21 can be reserved in two days.
I did this many years ago, and it was excellent.
Jon
Click to expand...
I just tried for the 12 tix available for 10/21 (they only do one tour at 9:15 each Wednesday, it appears). They open them up at 8:00MDT 30 days out. By 8:00:15 there was one left and I needed two. When I tried even for that one, hoping someone might cancel, it was gone by 8:00:30. Man....
 
Watching the bats come back to roost is also amazing. You'll have to get to the cave entrance just before dawn. The bats get over the cave mouth and fold their wings and just fall into the cave. It seems to be "raining" bats. It is truly amazing and it went on for almost an hour when we watched it. I've also done one of the guided tours through a side passage in the main cave and it was astounding. It involved crawling on my belly through some tight spots and some rope work, but was worth every penny of the cost. If they've stopped these side tours for good, that will be really sad. I can imaging a number of reasons for that however. Insurance costs, lack of personnel, gas buildup in areas of the cave that aren't ventilated as well. Maybe a combination of all 3.
 
Update:

We went there this past Monday and had a great time. Although they require reservations for slot times, we actually showed up at 8:55 (5 minutes before the doors opened), and not only got in the first slot time for the day of 9:30, but we also got two of the 24 slots for the day’s tour of the King’s Palace that day. Apparently they do those Mon/Tu/Th/Fri, staffing permitting and open the spots FCFS at the check-in counter on the day of. So, if that’s of interest, I’d say do as we do and get there by 8:55, hover near the doors, and be quick about getting in the line. Also, doing it in the mid-late fall is smart.

The tour was very good and worth it. Still want to do the Lower Cave one but, as noted, that’s a LOT harder to get.

The city of Carlsbad is much bigger than we expected and its “Riverwalk” is pleasant. Plus, McKittrick Canyon in the Guadalupe Mountains is a nice, moderate/easy hike, especially on a nice fall day.
 
Thanks for the update! Now I want to go there again. Did you fly into Carlsbad (KCNM) airport? I was just looking at it in ForeFlight...it has about 1 zillion runways (well, 4 runways, but they cover just about every direction). :)
 
JimBirk said:
Did you fly into Carlsbad (KCNM) airport
Click to expand...
We didn’t. We made it a stop on our way driving to Tucson to visit the grands.

Not sure about the car rental sitch at the airport but there must be some kind of option: there’s actually scheduled service there despite them not having a tower. A car would be essential, I’d imagine.

JimBirk said:
I was just looking at it in ForeFlight...it has about 1 zillion runways (well, 4 runways, but they cover just about every direction). :)
Click to expand...
Yeah - it’s a weird place with a Twilight Zone vibe.

We went from there to Bisbee, AZ and stopped at Hueco Tanks en route. That was cool. Fun rocks to scramble on and it would be a great place to come back to with our pop-up trailer.

Bisbee is a semi-hidden gem. At one point (in the 1920’s?) it apparently produced 1/3 of the world’s copper AND had a larger population than Phoenix. Today, it’s a more Bohemian place with an interesting copper mine tour and museum plus some fun restaurants and bars. A bumper sticker summed it up: “Bisbee: it’s like Mayberry on acid”:D
 
I was last there in 2013 for a weekend. I had a business trip to Dallas and flew into KCNM on the way back. I reserved three of the private tours in advance. I figured I'd someday return for another weekend and sign up for the other tours the next time I passed through the area.
 
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