|
Cave ToursBasic Cavern EntryThe basic caverns entry is by way of two self-guided routes, the Big Room Route and the Natural Entrance Route. Tickets are sold at the Visitor Center beginning each day at 8:30. Basic cavern entry tickets are good for three days but do not include guided or other special tours. Summer hours are in effect from Saturday before Memorial Day through the third Sunday in August.Official Cavern
GuideVisitors taking the self-guided Natural Entrance and Big Room routes will be able to listen to the Official Cavern Guide, a new CD-ROM audio guide, along these two one-mile routes. The hands-free audio tour, automatically triggered by electronic signals along the trail, will notably enhance the park's education program. As visitors focus their attention on the Cavern's grand rooms and magnificent decorations, they will also be enjoying the commentary of park rangers, geologists and cavers, complete with music, interviews and sound effects.
Big Room Route The basic tour through Carlsbad Cavern is the Big Room route, a one mile, self-guiding underground walk around the perimeter of the largest room in the cave, the Big Room. Taking approximately one hour, this circular route passes many large and famous features including Bottomless Pit, Giant Dome, Rock of Ages, and Painted Grotto. Highly decorated and immense, the 14-acre Big Room is a "must see" tour for all visitors to the park. Access to the Big Room is provided by elevators located in the visitor center. The relatively level and well lighted trails make this the ideal tour for visitors with limited time or walking difficulties. Most of the Big Room is accessible to wheelchairs, with a special map available at the visitor center information desk.
Hours: Memorial Day weekend to mid August -- 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mid August to late May -- 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.Natural Entrance RouteThe Natural Entrance route is a self-guiding tour available to visitors with plenty of time and in good physical condition. This 1-mile tour follows the traditional explorer's route, entering the cavern through the large historic natural entrance. The Natural Entrance route descends more than 750 feet into the earth following steep and narrow trails through a tall and spacious trunk passage called the Main Corridor.
The route culminates in the underground rest area, near the elevators and Big Room route starting point. Visitors in good health who plan to take both self guiding tours may enjoy starting with the Natural Entrance Route. Highlights along this route include Bat Cave, Devil's Spring, Green Lake Overlook, and the Boneyard, a complex maze of highly-dissolved limestone rock reminiscent of Swiss cheese. Visitors should watch for Iceberg Rock, a single 200,000 ton boulder that fell from the cave ceiling thousands of years ago.
Hours: Memorial Day weekend to mid August -- 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mid August to late May hours -- 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.Kings Palace Guided TourA third option is the Kings Palace tour, a 1.5 hour ranger-guided tour through 4 highly decorated scenic chambers. Departing from the underground rest area, the Kings Palace tour descends 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 speleotherms (cave decorations) including helectites, draperies, columns, and soda straws. Rangers frequently conduct black-out programs during this tour, briefly turning off all artificial lights to reveal the natural state of the cave environment. Reservations Required.
Hours: Memorial Day weekend to mid August -- 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 1:00, 2:00 and 3:00. Mid August to late May hours -- 9:00, 11:00, 1:00 and 3:00.Slaughter Canyon CaveRanger-guided tours of Slaughter Canyon Cave take you into an underground wilderness without electricity, paved walkways, or modern conveniences. In this wild cave, darkness is broken only by the flashlights and headlamps of rangers and tour members. Highlights of the two hour, 1.25 mile tour are the 89-foot high Monarch, one of the world's tallest columns; the sparkling, crystal-decorated Christmas Tree column; and the Chinese Wall, a delicate, ankle-high rimstone dam. Old bat guano mining excavations attest to the human history and impact in the cave.
Reservations Required. There is a strenuous 1/2 mile hike to the cavern entrance, where the tour begins. Sturdy walking shoes, good flashlights with fresh batteries, and water are required. All tour participants must be age 6 or older.
Hours: Memorial Day weekend to mid August tours -- daily -- 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Mid August to late May tours -- weekends -- 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.Wild Cave ToursIf you are looking for something to do that is a little different, then you may wish to participate in one of the ranger-guided wild caving trips at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. These tours cover a broad spectrum of difficulties, from the easy level walking passages of Left Hand Tunnel, to the twisting belly-crawls of Spider Cave and Hall of the White Giant. Every tour requires participants to be in good physical and mental condition to ensure group safety and protection of the fragile cave resource.Some tours have special requirements such as 4 AA batteries for the helmet and headlamp that we provide, and offer particular challenges such as ladder climbs, pool crossings, tight crawls, and free climbing. The rewards - breathtaking cave formations amidst the utter darkness and quiet - are worth the extra trouble. Wild cave tours at Carlsbad Caverns will add a whole different dimension to your caverns visit. Reservations Required. A basic cavern entry ticket is required in addition to the wild cave tour fee for Left Hand Tunnel, Lower Cave, and Hall of the White Giant.
Left Hand TunnelWith a candle lantern as your only source of light, experience Carlsbad Caverns much as the early explorers saw the cave. Highlights of this tour include a wide variety of formations, clear cavern pools, and fossils from the Permian age.
Duration: 1-2 hours
Requirements: Good walking shoes. Ages 6 and over.Lower CaveNational Geographic expedition members in 1924 wrote about the wonders to be seen in Lower Cave. Visitors today can see the evidence left behind from these and other explorers. Highlights of this tour include The Rookery, with countless nests of cave pearls, the Colonel Boles Formation, and an incredible diversity of speleotherms (cave formations) that compete for your attention almost everywhere you look along the trail. Ladders at the entrance to Lower Cave sometimes cause participants to back out. If you have a fear of heights or difficulties with ladders, you may wish to consider visiting Left Hand Tunnel instead.
Duration: 2-3 hours
Requirements: Ages 12 and over. Participants must be physically and mentally able to safely negotiate cave passages containing fragile formations without harm to the cave, yourself, or others. Good sneakers or hiking boots and 4 AA batteries are required.
Recommended: Cotton or leather gloves.Hall of the White GiantIf you don't mind getting dirty, crawling through tight passageways, and climbing some slippery flowstone, you might want to try the Hall of the White Giant. Ladder climbing, slippery surfaces, and free climbing will be encountered on this trip. Highlights of this tour include tight, narrow passages including Matlock's Pinch, and the White Giant formation. The prolonged amount of time spent in narrow cave passages requires a special attention to group communication and safety. This trip is not recommended for anyone afraid of tight spaces or heights.
Duration: 3-4 hours
Requirements: Ages 12 and over. Participants must be physically and mentally able to safely negotiate cave passages containing fragile formations without harm to the cave, yourself, or others. Hiking boots or other sturdy shoes and 4 AA batteries are required.
Recommended: Knee pads, cotton or leather gloves, and long pants.Spider CaveSpider Cave is a three-dimensional maze cave - a caver's paradise. Even veteran cavers will enjoy the adventure of Spider. Participants will make a 1/2 mile hike down beautiful Garden Grove Canyon to get to the cave, where excessive crawling and climbing will ensue. Highlights of this tour include the Mace Room, Medusa Room, and Cactus Spring, as well as a stunning variety of speleothems (cave formations) and dirty cave crawls. This trip is not recommended for anyone with a fear of enclosed spaces, heights, or getting a little cave dirt in your ears.
Duration: 3-4 hours
Requirements: Ages 12 and over. Participants must be physically and mentally able to safely negotiate cave passages containing fragile formations without harm to the cave, yourself, or others. Hiking boots or other sturdy shoes and 4 AA batteries are required.
Recommended: Knee pads, cotton or leather gloves, long pants, and and water.
|
