Descending into the Depths of Carlsbad Caverns

When I was a kid, my dad mentioned visiting Carlsbad Caverns and what a unique experience it was. Since then I have always wanted to visit it. While I said that visiting White Sands National Park was the reason for this trip, Carlsbad Caverns National Park was definitely a part of the reason as well. About 20 years ago my wife and I had visited Albuquerque. At that time I realized Carlsbad Caverns was quite far south so we didn’t go. This year it finally happened.

The park limits the number of people in the caverns at the same time. To do that visitors must purchase ahead of time an entrance time. That costs only a dollar per person. However, this is not your entrance into the park, it only reserves your time.

Our time was 11:30. Thankfully I picked that time because in the end we spent nearly four hours in the caverns. A later time would not have allowed us that much time.

There are two options to enter the caverns. One is to take the elevator down the 700 plus feet to the main cavern area. The second option is to walk down through what they call the natural opening. We chose the latter as taking the elevator keeps you from seeing the parts of the cave that the trail down passes through.

The walk down is about a mile and a quarter. One travels along a series of switchbacks through a number of small caverns. The opening to the caverns is actually quite wide. Upon entering one enters the bat cave. This is because there are hundreds of bats that live in this part of the cave. In fact one of the programs that Carlsbad Caverns offers that is quite popular is an evening show of the bats leaving the cave. There is an amphitheater near the opening of the cave, and in the evening visitors can sit and watch the multitude of bats leave the cave. We didn’t stick around for that, but it did sound interesting.

It took a while for my eyes to adjust to the darkness in the caverns. The trail itself is a solid trail with no obstacles to contend with. There are also handrails along most of the trail so visitors can feel comfortable walking. There are lights throughout the caverns. The lights do provide some light for walking, but their main purpose seems to be to highlight features in the cave. Once visitors are deep into the cave, there is no natural light at all so any light draws the eye’s attention.

The trek down was not too difficult. Going the 700 plus feet back up would have been difficult, and we did pass a few people who were doing that. However, for much of our journey down we felt quite alone. It seems most people do not choose to walk down. Those that did were walking at a faster pace than we were so they soon disappeared. The result was silence, long stretches when we heard no sound. It was amazing.

From time to time there would be an interpretive sign that would give us some details or explanations about what we were encountering. Numbered signs also dotted the trail. I assumed they were some kind of guided tour through which people could get information. However, I never saw any advertising regarding that. The map you find here is a good sample of what walking the caverns entails.

I wasn’t sure how it would be taking pictures here. The park does not allow tripods, and my camera does not have a built in flash. That meant all photos would be handheld in a dark environment. My Olympus camera does have a night mode so I turned to that. I was surprised how well that worked, and the photos were sharper than I expected. In the end I took well over 250 photos.

Let me add some thoughts about the photos. Since there is no natural light at all in the caverns, the photos all tend to have a yellow and orange look to them. This is not a reflection of the natural color of the stones, but is due to the lights that are used. Secondly, because there is no skyline or other objects around, it is hard to determine the scale of what is in the photo. Is it something small or is it large? Finally, as I noted, all the photos are handheld in a dark environment so they may not all be as sharp as I would have liked. Nevertheless, I hope the photos give you some idea of what it was like, but I assure you seeing it in person is the best option.

There were some stalactites as we were coming down the trail, but not a lot so I was feeling somewhat disappointed. Nevertheless there were some interesting sites. One location has a large piece of the ceiling fall. They named it Iceberg Rock due to its size.

A little ways after that wooden stairs are visible as visitors used these stairs to get around the Iceberg Rock. After this was the Green Lake Room where there seemed to be more stalactites.

From here we moved to the star of the caverns, the Great Room. The size of this room is tremendous. The trail that goes around the perimeter of the room is 1.3 miles. Here are also many of the formations that visitors want to see. Some of the formations have names. The names were given based on what someone saw when he looked at it. Again the lights spotlight certain formations while others are in the dark.

Upon entering this area a sign informs guests that there are bathrooms, a gift shop, and a cafe here for their needs. It made me wonder how many gift shops can be found 700 feet below the surface of the earth. I doubt there are many. However, this was also where the elevators are located, and the number of people in the caverns increased so that there was no longer silence. Sound carries in the caverns.

The first part of the walk around the perimeter has some of the more interesting features of the cavern. I was struck by the number of pencil thin stalactites hanging from the ceiling of the cavern.

There are three very large stalagmites close together. They are said to be the largest of the stalagmites in the cavern. It was interesting to see the layers with the drips down the sides. I told my wife it reminded me of the melting candle wax one sometimes sees at Italian restaurants.

Next came an area dubbed Fairyland. There were small stalagmites here, but also a lot of what they called popcorn which gives a rough appearance to everything.

Another large stalagmite was named The Temple of the Sun. It stood alone in its location.

The stalactites hanging from the ceiling didn’t seem to have names. Sometimes they just hung strait down. Other times they were more like drips off the side of the cavern walls. Occasionally they had a darker color to them. Overall I found them quite intriguing. Some of the smaller stalagmites were also unnamed but nevertheless interesting.

At the back of the trail, the stalactites and stalagmites diminished. Here the interest was in looking down. In one location there were hanging ladders going down into a hole. Apparently an expedition led by Dr. Willis Lee had searched deeper into some of the holes to see what they could discover. At the end of the trail is the bottomless pit. There was no light to illuminate this so I was unable to get a photo. At this point the trail begins to go back on the other side of the cavern.

Initially there are not a lot of interesting features here, but eventually one begins to encounter more things. This side does offer more views of the small pools of water that form as the water drips down from the ceiling.

One area is called the Top of the Cross. Apparently this refers to the ceiling. I don’t quite get it. There was a large stalagmite right there which I thought was more interesting. Farther along on the trail one comes to the Silent Bell which has a fairly smooth surface to it.

Three more formations are highlighted as the trail continues. One is known as the Rock of Ages. I’m not sure the reason for that name. I think Bigfoot might be more appropriate. After that we saw the Doll Theater in which everything seemed to be in miniature formations. Finally we encountered the Chinese theater. Before we even saw the name my wife remarked that it looked like a pagoda.

Our journey ended at the underground gift shop. From there we took the elevator back up to the top. Of course it opens into a gift shop there as well.

The weather forecast called for 80 degree temperatures in Carlsbad on this day. We, however, enjoyed the cool air in the caves, and even had jackets on. I had not anticipated spending so much time in Carlsbad Caverns, but it was a truly memorable experience.

Has anyone else manged to visit Carlsbad Caverns? What about other caves? Please feel free to share your experiences in the comment section. Thanks to those who have liked a post. I appreciate your support.