Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, lies an underground treasure including more than 117 known caves.  Beneath the rugged desert, rocky slopes and deep canyons that make up Carlsbad.

Carlsbad Caverns, tucked underneath the scenic Guadalupe Mountain ranges in the Chihuahuan Desert of southeastern New Mexico and West Texas, contains some of the largest and most visited caves in America.

The Guadalupe Mountains are an uplifted portion of ancient reef, which thrived along the edge of an inland sea more than 250 million years ago. Preserved in the rocks are the ancient bodies of sponges, algae, snails, nautilus and more.

That same fossil reef also formed the caves beneath the surface. Over time, sulfuric acid dissolved into surrounding limestone, creating stunning rock formations jetting down from the cave ceilings. More than 300,000 visitors travel to Carlsbad Caverns each year for a rare glimpse of the underground worlds preserved beneath the desert.

Visitors to the caverns may choose to hike the steep and strenuous 1.25 mile paved trail into the cave's natural entrance or take a short, one-minute elevator ride from the Visitor's Center down into the caves. 

Dave had been here as a child and had always talked about us going someday.  However he only ever described it as a cave that bats flew out of.  So I was not prepared for what I saw.  This place is beautiful.  I wondered around with my mouth hanging open.  We got there before they opened.  We were the 1st two in.  We rode the elevator down and hiked out.  We stayed for the evening bat flight.  This is a must see.  I would definitely go back. Highly recommend it!

Seventeen species of bats live in the park, including a large number of Mexican Free-tailed Bats. It has been estimated that the population of Mexican Free-tailed Bats once numbered in the millions but has declined drastically in modern times. The cause of this decline is unknown but the pesticide DDT is often listed as a primary cause. Populations appear to be on the increase in recent years but are nowhere near the levels that may have been historically present. The Mexican Free-tailed Bats are present from April or May to late October or early November. They emerge in a dense group, corkscrewing upwards and counterclockwise.