Carlsbad Caverns National Park with Kids: The Big Room, Junior Rangers & Bat Flight

It took us two tries and almost an entire year, but we finally made it inside Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

We first came through Carlsbad last year specifically planning to visit the caverns, only to have our plans completely fall apart when the park closed. So when our route from California to South Texas brought us through New Mexico again, we decided it was time for attempt number two.

Naturally, the Natural Entrance was closed during our visit.

At this point, I was starting to think Carlsbad Caverns had something against us.

Thankfully, the rest of the cavern was open—and once we stepped out of the elevator and into the Big Room, I stopped caring quite so much about what we’d missed.

Carlsbad Caverns was incredible.

We spent the morning exploring the Big Room, completed three different ranger programs between the kids and me, and returned that evening to watch hundreds of bats emerge from the cavern beneath a full moon.

Even without the Natural Entrance, this ended up being one of our favorite stops on our 2,500-mile trip across the Southwest.

Quick Links

• Carlsbad Caverns National Park — National Park Service — Current alerts, closures and park information.
• Cavern Reservations — Recreation.gov — Reserve the timed-entry ticket required to enter Carlsbad Cavern.
• Carlsbad Caverns Hours — National Park Service — Current visitor center, cavern entrance and elevator hours.
• Bat Flight Program — National Park Service — Seasonal dates, current start times and information about the evening program.
• Junior & Senior Ranger Programs — National Park Service — Junior Ranger, Junior Bat Biologist and Senior Ranger activity books.

Getting to Carlsbad Caverns

We were staying at Carlsbad RV Park for two nights.

This was actually our second stay at the campground. It’s not one of our favorite campgrounds we’ve visited—there’s quite a bit of highway noise, and during this particular stay the indoor pool was closed because it had been over-chlorinated—but it’s a practical base for visiting the national park.

We left the campground around 9:15 AM and arrived at Carlsbad Caverns around 9:45 AM.

After driving up to the visitor center, we walked inside and found essentially no line.

That was our first win of the day.

We had a timed-entry reservation, checked in and were able to head almost immediately toward the elevators.

Carlsbad Caverns currently requires a timed-entry reservation to enter the cavern. The reservation is separate from the park entrance fee, so you’ll still need to check in at the visitor center when you arrive.

Taking the Elevator into Carlsbad Cavern

Normally, visitors have two self-guided options for entering and exploring the main cavern: hike down the Natural Entrance or take the elevator directly underground.

The Natural Entrance Trail is 1.25 miles and descends about 750 feet—roughly equivalent to walking down a 75-story building.

We really wanted to do it.

Unfortunately, the Natural Entrance was temporarily closed during our visit, so the decision was made for us.

We took the elevator.

And honestly, if you’re traveling with younger kids, older family members or someone with limited mobility—or you simply don’t want to make that steep descent—the elevator makes Carlsbad Caverns an incredibly approachable cave experience.

You descend roughly 750 feet underground and emerge near the Big Room.

Then you get to explore at your own pace.

Hiking the Big Room Trail

The Big Room Trail is about 1.25 miles, and the National Park Service estimates that most visitors take around 1.5 hours to complete it.

That’s almost exactly what happened for us.

Normally, our family can walk 1.25 miles pretty quickly.

Not here.

You aren’t just walking.

You’re stopping every few feet because there’s another formation to look at, another sign to read or another part of the cavern that makes you wonder how something like this exists underneath an otherwise fairly ordinary-looking desert.

We saw stalactites, stalagmites, draperies, cave popcorn and all kinds of other formations throughout the loop.

The Bottomless Pit was especially fun for the kids.

And the scale of the Big Room is difficult to appreciate until you’re standing inside it. It is the largest single cave chamber by volume in North America, and at times it feels less like you’re inside a cave and more like you’re walking through an underground landscape.

We’ve visited quite a few caves and caverns around the country, including Lehman Caves at Great Basin, Jewel Cave, Wind Cave, Luray Caverns and The Lost Sea.

Our family loves caves.

We just prefer the kind where we can stand upright.

Carlsbad Caverns If You’re Claustrophobic

I am claustrophobic.

Very claustrophobic.

But I had absolutely no problem inside the Big Room.

The spaces are enormous, the trail is developed and you’re never squeezing yourself through tiny openings or crawling through tunnels.

Obviously everyone experiences claustrophobia differently, so I can’t tell someone else how they’ll feel underground.

But for me personally, Carlsbad was one of the easiest cave experiences we’ve done.

If the idea of a cave interests you but tight passages absolutely do not, the Big Room may be a good introduction.

Is Carlsbad Caverns Accessible?

This was one of the things that impressed me most about the park.

Carlsbad Caverns gives people an opportunity to experience a major cave system who might never be able to handle a traditional cave tour.

The elevator takes visitors directly underground, and portions of the Big Room are designated for wheelchair access.

That doesn’t mean the entire cave is ADA accessible. The National Park Service notes that the trail can be wet, uneven and slippery, and some sections have grades or other barriers that make them inaccessible to wheelchairs. The Natural Entrance is also far too steep for wheelchair access.

But compared with many caves we’ve visited, this is an unusually accessible experience.

There’s also a Big Room shortcut that reduces the route from 1.25 miles to roughly 0.6 mile, which is helpful for anyone who wants to experience the cavern without completing the entire loop.

Yes, There Are Bathrooms Underground

This was something I wasn’t expecting.

Near the elevators, about 750 feet underground, there’s an underground rest area with actual restrooms.

There are also visitor facilities in this area. Some weren’t operating during our visit, but I was still surprised by how developed this portion of the cave was.

What surprised me even more was the amount of information we encountered about what to do if you need to use the bathroom elsewhere in the cavern.

Apparently this is enough of an issue that human waste bags exist.

I had questions.

Many questions.

Fortunately, none of us needed to personally investigate this aspect of the Carlsbad Caverns experience.

The Visitor Center Is Worth Your Time

We came back up around 11 AM and could easily have left at that point feeling like we’d had a good visit.

I’m glad we didn’t.

The visitor center was one of the better national park visitor centers we’ve explored.

There are exhibits explaining the cave system, wildlife, geology and history of the park, along with a park film.

There’s also a children’s area with tables, books and hands-on educational materials where the kids could sit and work on their Junior Ranger activities.

One of my favorite displays was a large map showing Junior Ranger badges from National Park Service sites all over the country.

Our kids have earned Junior Ranger badges throughout our travels, so seeing all those different badges spread across the United States was incredibly fun. It also gave us quite a few ideas for future stops.

Junior Rangers — And a Senior Ranger for Mom

All three kids completed the Carlsbad Caverns Junior Ranger program and earned their badges.

Then I discovered something even better.

Carlsbad Caverns has a Senior Ranger program for adults.

Obviously I was doing it.

The Senior Ranger booklet is more involved than the kids’ books. You complete a selection of activities about the cave, wildlife, history and conservation, then turn it in at the visitor center.

I had to do a little research to finish mine, but that was actually part of what I liked about it. I learned things about the cave system I probably wouldn’t have stopped to read otherwise.

And instead of another plastic badge, I received a little metal Senior Ranger pin.

I loved it.

Then, just as we thought we were finished collecting ranger badges for the day, we learned there was another program:

Junior Bat Biologist.

So the kids grabbed those books too.

We’d be coming back that night.

Exploring Above Ground

We didn’t do much above-ground exploring during this visit.

Carlsbad Caverns sits in the Chihuahuan Desert, and August temperatures can be brutal. After spending the morning underground, we weren’t particularly motivated to add a desert hike in the afternoon.

The Walnut Canyon Desert Drive was also closed during our visit.

Honestly, though, I didn’t feel like we missed much by focusing almost entirely on the cavern.

If we return during cooler weather—and especially if the Natural Entrance is open—I’d spend more time exploring above ground.

Coming Back for the Bat Flight

Carlsbad Caverns has another experience that makes the park unusual.

Every evening during the warmer months, Brazilian free-tailed bats emerge from the Natural Entrance to feed.

The park hosts a free Bat Flight Program from April through October at the amphitheater near the Natural Entrance. Reservations aren’t required, and the program time changes throughout the season as sunset changes.

We planned to return around 7 PM.

We didn’t quite make it.

The girls had made a little friend at our campground who was deaf, and it took us longer than expected to get everyone back where they needed to be before we could leave.

We pulled into the park around 7:20 PM.

Thankfully, we hadn’t missed the bats.

We also still had time for the kids to turn in their Junior Bat Biologist books and collect their additional badges.

Then we headed down to wait.

Our Bat Flight Wasn’t Perfect — And I’m Glad We Stayed

A ranger had warned us earlier that conditions weren’t ideal.

It had been very dry, and we were told that many of the bats had moved elsewhere. The heat could also affect when they emerged.

So we knew we probably weren’t going to get the enormous swirling tornado of bats Carlsbad is famous for.

At first, almost nothing happened.

A couple of bats appeared.

Then a few more.

Eventually it became a steady trickle.

And then we’d get these little gusts where groups suddenly poured out together.

We probably saw a few hundred bats altogether.

Was it the spectacular mass emergence you see in photographs?

No.

Was it still worth coming back?

Absolutely.

Because while we were sitting there, this enormous full moon rose over the desert.

And suddenly I wasn’t thinking very much about how many bats we were seeing.

The Moment I’ll Remember

This entire trip had been messy.

We were moving our RV roughly 2,500 miles from California to South Texas in about 10 days.

Our orthodontist appointment in San Diego had gotten messed up.

We’d driven through 118-degree temperatures.

Our RV had reached 105 degrees inside.

We’d had electrical problems.

The Natural Entrance at Carlsbad was closed.

Even the bats apparently weren’t interested in fully cooperating with our schedule.

And yet there we were.

It was Wednesday night, and I was sitting outside Carlsbad Caverns with my husband and our kids watching bats fly out of a cave underneath this gorgeous full moon.

Our kids had spent the previous few days walking among petrified trees, learning geology, training jiu-jitsu in Albuquerque, exploring a cave and learning about bats.

This was school.

This was family time.

This was exactly why we chose this life.

Full-time travel doesn’t magically eliminate problems. Sometimes I think we actually collect more unusual problems because we’re constantly putting ourselves in situations where something can go wrong.

But everyone has problems.

Ours just happen in different places.

And sitting there underneath that full moon, I remember thinking:

I’d rather have my problems on the road.

What I Wish We’d Been Able to Do

The one thing I genuinely wish we’d experienced was the Natural Entrance Trail.

It’s another 1.25 miles and takes you from the surface down roughly 750 feet into the cavern, passing formations and areas that you don’t see by simply taking the elevator.

Missing it didn’t make our visit feel incomplete enough that I regretted coming.

Actually, it did the opposite.

It gave me a reason to come back.

After failing to see Carlsbad Caverns at all on our first attempt and missing the Natural Entrance on our second, apparently we’re destined for a third visit.

I’m okay with that.

A Few Things to Know Before You Go

Carlsbad Caverns currently requires a timed-entry reservation to enter the cavern. The reservation itself is currently $1, and you’ll still need an entrance ticket or qualifying park pass when you arrive. Visitors 15 and younger don’t pay the cavern entrance fee. Current reservations, prices and hours can change, so check the National Park Service and Recreation.gov before your trip.

The Big Room is 1.25 miles, but don’t plan your timing the way you would for a normal 1.25-mile walk. NPS estimates about 1.5 hours, which matched our experience almost exactly.

If that’s too much, use the Big Room shortcut and reduce the walk to approximately 0.6 mile.

The Natural Entrance is also 1.25 miles but is a completely different hike. It’s extremely steep and loses or gains about 750 feet of elevation.

If you’re visiting during bat season, I’d absolutely consider staying for the Bat Flight Program. It’s free, doesn’t require reservations and happens in the evening from April through October, although weather and bat activity can affect the experience.

And don’t skip the Junior Ranger programs. If you’re an adult traveling with your kids, grab the Senior Ranger book too.

You might be surprised by how much fun you have earning your own pin.

Read More

Carlsbad Caverns was one of the major stops on our road trip from California to South Texas:

• 2,500 Miles in 10 Days: Our RV Road Trip from California to South Texas
• Petrified Forest National Park: What We Did, What Surprised Us & How Much Time You Really Need