An experience to be had without a doubt in my mind! Words can not express the beauty that lies within this park. From the wildlife to the geology, there is an abundance of breath taking things to be seen. One of New Mexicos most enchanting places

The center has a lot to offer. The is where you buy your tickets for the cavern. It also has a couple of gift shops to check out. There is also a small museum to look at on your way to the natural cave entrance. The cave is amazing. You definitely what to do the hike via the natural entrance if you are physically able.

We did our tour at the end of July when covid quarantine was still required for the state for our of towners. So please be respectful for these locals and wear a mask and pick up after yourself. I mention this because many people were not local and roaming the caves NOT wearing masks and NOT staying 6 feet apart from anyone. We did find many masks on the ground from people IN the caves.Get there early for tickets and pack for an early lunch while you wait for your group time.Besides all of that this place was amazing! It actually takes 4 hours if you take the hand held radio tour and do the whole tour. I believe there are 50 stops on the tour. They are not currently doing ranger tours so you walk the entrance to the caves down. Bring comfortable shoes and be ready to get some exercise. Not wheel chair or stroller accessible. If you have bad knees it will be a challenge.You don’t take the service elevator til the end of the first half or very end to go up only at this time. Its cold down there especially the second half. Bring a sweater if you get cold easily or you can buy one from their shop. They also provide drinks and food at the half way point but you can not leave the area with them.By far exceeded my expectations and I am not a fan of caves due to too many scary movies in caves. This place is AMAZING!

This area, and the Caverns area beyond WOW!!! Everyone should put this on their bucket list. Your ticket is a 3 day pass. So, take your time and be Blessed.

Lovely views on the drive. We stopped at multiple places to take pictures. Since it was closed the drive wasn’t crowded either.

I read about Carlsbad Caverns years ago with my 3rd grade students. It was so much more than I had expected. It is truly a wonder of nature.

Amazing place! We loved the experience it was so much fun and price not bad. Took maybe 2 1/2 hrs to finish since we took a break to snack. So much fun and would definitely recommend.

Awesome National Park, definitely one of the better ones to visit! Great staff, everyone wears masks, social distancing is a thing. I would highly recommend anyone to come here, but there is quite a bit of walking so bring good shoes.

Disappointed. Very limited. They dont sell tickets online, got there about 10:30 and they sold last tickets about 9:30. We could go to mouth of the cave. We did explore some of the trails around the caverns. That was fun. Would love to go back and actually see the caverns

Beware. Get here early during these weird times. Only 800 people a day are allowed and they stagger times. Tickets were sold out by 11. We got here at 9 and our time was 12:45 pm. Be prepared to wait. Bring snacks, water and enjoy the scenery, stores, videos, etc while you wait.

Amazing to think of what it must have been like in the early years when they were just first exploring the caverns. So many different area and levels to visit. The work that has been done to make this Park accessible to so many people is really amazing.The natural entrance is definitely the way to do it both in the cave and out, if you are physically able. Simply amazing.

Outstanding caverns, the best I have ever seen. Book at least half day if you want to enjoy it. Take the trail down rather than the elevator, its worth it. It takes 1 to 1.5 hours. Then walk around the big room. Another 1.5 to 2 hours. Or if you are ready for lunch, take a quick elevator ride up to the Visitor center and have some Mexican food there, then go back to explore more. A must see.

The visitor center was very well organized and had outstanding displays on the caverns history. Also had two gift shops with a lot of Carlsbad caverns goodies. The trail into the caverns is always tending down hill. Once at the bottom you take an elevator back to the gift shop. The restrooms are outside the entrance to the visitor center. We arrived early and the restrooms were accessable before the visitor center opened. Opened at 8am. Highly recommend this park.

Only the Big Room was open but it was spectacular! Great examples of cave formations!! Had a wonderful walk through the stalactites, stalagmites, draperies and popcorn. The limestone flowstones and columns were awesome!

Big and beautiful caverns. Plan for atleast 5 -6 hours time.

The Caverns were absolutely awe-inspiring. Amazing to see them up close. Check the website before you go to confirm COVID-19 restrictions. The day we were there, tickets sold out by 9:30 am (we arrived before 8am to an already long line and got tickets for the 12:00 tour), and there were a lot of disappointed visitors.

Very good displays. Best cave i have been to. Crowd thinned a lot after we entered. Line to get tickets had no social distancing required but at least all had masks on

It was an amazing experience, but take water and have good shoes on and a light coat..it is a good hike down..

Ive always love the caverns. This is a great summer activity, it could be 110 degrees o. The surface but its always cool in the caves

What a wild place! The cave features are varied and awe inspiring. Totally worth getting in early to stand in line for tickets - covid style. It is a long, but easy walk through the caverns. 56 degrees inside year round, and they have a gift shop/restaurant in the depths of the cave! If you dont have an off road vehicle to access the trailheads off the unpaved roads, theres not much else to do than the main tour. But we took an hour long walk down guano road to see a little desert plant life, and it was well worth it! Great rangers, very helpful all around.

It was my first time there and it was a great experience i really enjoy it, wish the restaurant at the vottom was open tho.

Beautiful place..if you are in the area its a must!

This is a national park for a reason! However lower review is due to lack of enforcing COVID measures.COVID MEASURES:-SHOW UP EARLY. They are limiting how many people can enter per day. We got there at 8:30 and our time slot was at 12pm.-Because of limiting people inside cavern, very easy to avoid people once inside cavern which is great for pictures!-Social distancing not enforced.-Masks not enforced, including park rangers when they are indoors.-Elevator to leave cavern encourages 1 family per elevator but people dont read(or care) so you have to seem rude and remind people of this yourself.-Rangers are rarely inside cavern so mask wearing not enforced at all inside cavern but luckily easier to avoid people inside cavern.TIPS:-As stated earlier, show up early to ensure you actually get to go inside cavern.-Bring stamps because you can send mail from the cavern!! There is a mailbox inside the cavern at the end (where the elevators are). Ask the helper that is near the mailbox to add the stamp that shows that your postcard was delivered 750 ft below.-If you had to wait for your time slot like us, use this time to write post cards and eat lunch at their cafe(opens at 10am).-Cavern is 56F(13.3C) year round so bring something to keep you comfortable for the 2-3hr journey inside cavern.-Bat show cancelled for now(you can watch from your car).

They are trying to get as many people in as possible during the pandemic. Staff was very helpful. Carlsbad Caverns are beautiful, but you should know that already if you are looking at reviews.

Just an amazing natural wonder. Its like the Grand Canyon of the underworld due to its impressiveness. Park Rangers are also so very nice and helpful. Very knowledgeable too!! While its best to walk down, it might be best if you have small kids to take the elevator to the big room instead. It is a long walk and theres no turning back.

This was my first time coming here and it was amazing!

Always a great place to visit. The Cavern is huge and amazing. It is a hike so be prepared and if you do the whole trip expect 3-5 hours. Currently with COVID they have limited tickets.

Loved the cave but was very noisy...so couldnt enjoy.Not sure why they have rules if they arent going to enforce them.Nothing worse, inside a cave is people talking...the entire time.There were three park employees in the cave and not one of them addressed this issue....Superintendent needs to address this problem and also the over staffing..Dont complain about being underfunded, when you have four people, doing the job, that one could do.Disappointing...to say the least

Absolutely must see. Carlsbad amazes me with each visit. The formations are different in every room yet made by the same natural process. Nature’s beauty at its finest.

We were so lucky finding this place on our way. $15/adult, $0/kiddo and its worth every penny. Those are the biggest caverns lve ever been to. Must go, must see, be prepared for an astounding 2 miles hike. First part traverses down the impressive cavity youre entering at the beginning. Last mile or so goes around the Big Room and it really is a big space. Elevator takes you up at the end. Go & Enjoy.

Miles of natural scenary (mostly downhill walking). Great helpful and knowledgeable staff. Lots of photo opportunities. Safe.

Excellent trip for the family. Be there early because tickets are limited since the COVID-19 regulations, but overall rather well controlled and safe, added your own precautions. Lines get long, so being there early was a big advantage. It appears groups are scheduled based on how many people are in them, to help limit the number of people inside the caverns at one time. We were a party of 6, so we had to wait 2 hours in the lobby before allowed to walk in. Time flew by looking at the displays, browsing the gift shop, and eating something at the restaurant. Was not bad at all.Beautiful and lengthy walk down into, and around the caverns. So much natural history to learn and appreciate. Even for non-geeks, the scenery alone is mesmerizing.Natural entrance is 20 grade, so be ready to put those knees and legs to work for almost an hour. It gets nice and cool once inside. Definitely beats the 100-degree weather up top.Depending on how much you stop to rest, or read, or take photos, one can spend between 2 and 3 hours. We couldnt stay longer for sunset to see the bat flight, but we hear its quite something to enjoy.Definitely recommended!

If you are ever even close to this area, go to Carlsbad Caverns. You will not be disappointed. Even just the main room is amazing. If you can do the natural entrance, do it! If you have time for the extra tours they offer, do them too! I highly recommend all of them. We used to live in Carlsbad and went to the main cavern several times, but I was never able to do any of the extra tours because I have small children. Recently my husband went back to do a short-term work assignment and I went with him to visit. I took myself on all the tours they offer, and they were all really awesome. You see such different things and hear different history and geological facts...it was worth doing them all.

Trip from Abilene Texas to Whites city aka Carlsbad Caverns. 3 days & 2 nights approximately 400.00 total.Great trip from start to finish (beware the pot holes on most of the roads especially going through the town of andrews). The hotel was cheap and nice but is conveniently located right before the entrance to the federal properties going to the cavern visitors center where you can find a huge assortment of gifts from maps, post cards, rocks and clothes. The caverns are amazing but i was not prepared for the journey as you are non stop moving downwards so your leg muscles get a lot of attention. At the end of the walking is a set of elevators that brings you back to the gift shop in case you forgot something the first time lol. Its a cheap enough trip costing around 400.00 including gas, hotel, food and other but does not include souvenirs as i believe i dropped around 400.00 in UFO memorabilia and geodes.

A great place to visit with adults or children. An easy drive on mostly 70 mph paved road from EL Paso, TX You must arrive before 2:15 for last group tour. Check the website as the times change seasonally. Take the easy 1 mile loop trail through the various caves. Its all well lighted with handrail along the way. Some parts are wheel chair accessable too. Elevators wisk you down to the 750 level below ground...very safe. A cool 58 degrees underground all year longYou will have a lifetime experience to share.

After Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, and Mammoth Cave, I didnt expect to be stunned the way I was here. The scale of this place beggars belief. Theres a vista around every corner. 60 feet high pillars, 40 feet high domes, stalactites and stalagmites of every shape, size, and description, weeping stone, fine straws of calcite hanging from the ceiling, walls of gypsum, cavernous halls, bottomless pits, this place has it all. Also, as can be seen, the Park Rangers do a phenomenal job with the lighting and the maintenance, which must be quite challenging to say the least. Ill visit again! And again!

Best cavern Ive been to so far. Self guided. It was first come first serve on tickets to enter.

Loved the beautiful views however due to COVID tickets get sold out and we were not able to see the bats from the amphitheater when they flew out

The ONLY reason I came to New Mexico was to see the caverns. This is a National Park, not run by the state, so I am confused why they would close the caverns. Bandalier National Monument & Pecos National Historic Park were both open. This is ridiculous. I will never be coming back to New Mexico.

This is a truly majestic place everyone needs to see... absolutely breathtaking

Isis an amazing place . A must see for all !

A must see classic National Park though I don’t think I’ll be going back any time soon. Once you see one limestone cave you kinda seen them all. Yeah, this place is big and the hike down into the cave is more brutal than you think. It is also a little bit commercial... Especially in contrast to Guadalupe National Park.

Got there around 8:45am. Our time to get in was 9:45am. Tickets are about $15 per person. I believe kids under 16 were free or price reduced. We got out of the caverns around noon. There wasnt too many people since they separated everyones entry times. It was an amazing experience. Caves were on the cooler side and a little damp. They ran super deep into the ground and was very scenic. At the end of the caverns is an elevator letting one family group in at a time taking you back to the surface. It could take some time getting on the elevator depending on how many people are in line. It was Covid-19 friendly. Make sure you bring a face mask. Im glad we got there early because it looked like the people that showed up after us were getting later and later entry times since they were only letting so many people in per time slot. It is first come first serve for tickets so get there early if you can so they dont run out!!!

Outstanding! Go early. Went labor day and arrived at 730, got 1030 ticket time. Line was biggest they had seen.

So amazing. A must do trip to see. Be ready for 1.5 mile hike downward into the belly of the Big Room with awesome views throughout. Best part of the trip down is seeing the elevator to take you back to the surface! Or you can take elevator down to Big Room and ride it back up saving a lot of energy for those without. Be sure and get to cave just before dark and check out the bat exodus every night. Truly a sight to be seen!

All Rangers very helpful and friendly. Good selection of souvenirs also. Clean and organized.

One of my favorite National Parks. The experience of going inside of the caverns is one that you can’t describe unless you do it for yourself. Absolutely mind blowing. Plenty of parking, Visitors Center is big and resourceful, and they have the Cavern experience well organized even if it is busy. We took the elevator down and did the 1 hour walk back up. I would probably recommend doing it the other way around so you don’t wear yourself out. HIGHLY recommend visiting Carlsbad Caverns.

What an awesome hike into a cave that goes 750 feet into the ground. A little tough but worth the effort! The second half called the big room is much easier and absolutely amazing beautiful stalagmites and stalactites and so much more! What an amazing a creative display!

This place is great. Take the natural entrance, otherwise its all an uphill hike if you want to see everything. The cave entrance is beautiful. Off season is definitely the time to go, there werent a lot of people. The gift shop is awesome with a lot of different items.

Amazing. No tour guided ones but definitely amazing to see the cave

Went here not fully knowing what to expect since I’ve don’t cabes before. These caverns are incredible. The guides were very knowledgeable and made simple interactions fun and the tours even better. Highly recommend King’s Palace and get your reservation in advance. I can’t tell you how many disappointed people we saw because they didn’t plan in advance.

I’ve been to several national parks. On my most recent roadtrip, I hit 12 national parks and this hands-down not only took the cake for favorite park of the trip, but favorite park of all time. Maybe the best thing I have ever seen or done in all my life. I am still in shock about how amazing this park is. It changed my life. If I could recommend doing one thing before you die, it would be walking through these caverns. I got really lucky, I got the last ticket in at the very last time slot and I purposefully let the family with young children get a decent head start before I entered the caves, so I literally had each massive room to myself walking through. It brought me to tears. No words or pictures or videos can capture the massive scale of these caverns. I’m a planner and I had watched soooo many videos about these caverns and I still was nowhere close to prepared for how grand they really are. I’m sure if there had been lots of people around it might not have been as spiritual or epic, but as it was, this was the highlight of my entire life and I do not say that lightly at all. They are one of the few parks doing anything to combat COVID and the only one of the twelve parks I saw in September that is doing anything at all besides simply closing altogether.

This post is only intended to rate travel during COVID: Arrived at 8:20am and the soonest available time was 10:45, but the main reason we didn’t stay was the lack of social distancing enforcement by the park. The lobby was packed with people (nobody was 6 ft apart) and some people were not wearing masks inside. Be safe if you go. I’ll be back in the future to see the beautiful caverns.

Its over 50 years that I first experience the Caverns..of Carlsbad.. I just went today at the age of 61.. and loved it more.. I walked it all. Accompanied by my two sons.. JJ and Wedo Rosales. From Texas.

Amazing. Never gets old. Stunning every time

Quick and easy tour tickets. Great vocal reminders as well. Well stocked gift shop. Super.

Great place to visit. Different paths you can take to limit your time inside the cave. You can spend from 2 to 5 hours with the cave and exhibit. They also have a great gift shop.

I had seen the pictures, I had heard the stories, it was a really big cave... But I did not expect what I saw. My breath was taken away walking into the big room. It was hard to comprehend that we were 800 ft below the surface. This pictures I have do NOT give it justice. I could have spent 3 more days down there looking and thinking about all of Gods wonders down here. I highly recommend taking a couple of tours, we did the kings palace and the left hand tunnel by candlelight! Amazing! The first day we did the Kings palace and the big room and the walked out of the cave. We got to experience the walk out 100% alone as we timed it just right on a Sunday afternoon to start the trek up. To see these caves alone was the best experience because you can sit and just listen to the cave. The bat flight in the evenings is amazing and 100% free take the family and go!

It was an absolutely amazing experience. My family loved it. Ladies wear your hair in a bun as the humidity in the caves is something else but its refreshing!

Great place to visit. If I could give any advice wear really comfortable shoes. The gift shop is amazing. One of the USA’s most iconic travel destinations must see put it on your bucket list. The history and the story behind it and how it was found is amazing as well do you research you’ll love the visit.

Kind and informative rangers. Informative display about the formation of the cave and human interaction with it.

One of the coolest places Ive ever experienced. A must visit. Wonderful exhibits and documentaries in the visitor center and the caverns were absolutely breathtaking.

Amazing plain and simple. The cave is enormous!!! Super veteran friendly. If youre active duty you get a free annual pass.

Great place to visit. Take a good lead flashlight with you. The lightning is not very good.

Great place to take the family! Incredibly nice employees and rangers!! Outstanding and breathtaking views of a naturally formed national park! Very educational and interesting formations formed by thousands of years all viewed in a comfortable and safe walkthrough.

The Covid has it pretty plain. Cant do much and the guides are not running with you. If it werent for that it would have been awesome!!!

Wonderful experience that the whole family enjoyed. Plenty of rest areas along the way in the caverns. I would suggest wearing sleeves or taking a jacket! The further you go in the more the temperature drops. The park rangers were very polite and helpful from start to finish. Park rangers are along the trail every so often which allows for a sense of safety. At the end of the trail is a gift shop and snacks. My favorite thing about this is that they have a mail drop box where you can send out postcards from inside the cavern! Will visit again if I ever get the chance.

The caverns are absolutely breathtaking. Its exactly like all of the pictures online, a few I will include. The admission price is not bad but it is so worth it. This cavern was ginormous, it was insanely large. I would reccomend bringing a high power flashlight to explore the crevices in the ceiling. The cavern was just amazing. I cannot describe how grand it is. If you are a fan of nature, caves, or national parks this is just the right place to go. The only con was when we were ordering food they got my order wrong however you can eat somewhere else.

Fun experience, be prepared for a long walk though.

We enjoyed walking through the caverns going at our own pace. We liked that we could ask the park rangers questions & the knowledge they have of the caverns.

Do the self guided tour and get the audio device, then you can follow the trail at you leisurely pace and not the guided tour. The place is phenomenal, I have toured other caves in China, Korea, Costa Rica and this one is the best. If you have time after the self guided tour then take a guided tour of the kings hall.

Been here dozens of times. Im always amazed every time I go back. They also made some great updates to the gift shop and visitor center.

Awesome experience for the nature lover.

This Place is just amazing ..... Beautiful Formations , and a nice cool temperature inside the cave 750 feet down .... Took us nearly 3 hours to see everything ...ITS HUUUUUGE !!!

Always a wonderful experience! I always see something new.

You have to experience the enormity of the big room to understand it. The amount of stalactites, flowstone, popcorn, soda straws and other cave formations is amazing. Being self guided meant we were not rubbing elbows with a large tour group and could move at our own pace and experience the silence of the cave. Do it, you wont be sorry. We spent an hour and a half on the 1.25 mile big room self guided tour.

Truly magical. Everyone should go.

We took the natural entrance walkway down into the big room. Its incredibly impressive. We had about a two-hour walk through and then took the elevator up. Breathtaking caverns. We only did the self guided trip but Im sure the ranger led tours are great and informative. We had space to park with our RV. The only complaint I have is the man at the register in the cafe. So rude!! He wouldnt even look at me and kept asking my husband what else he wanted; like is this the 50s or what?? I cant speak for myself! Get rid of the guy who worked the cafe the afternoon of December 6th!

Ive seen many caverns but the best is Carlsbad Caverns. Its huge and goes really deep down. It does feel kind of suffocated once you are all the way down. The stairs, paths, are all well lighted. We went with kiddos and had no problem. There are elevators but the elevators only go down to certain level. A lot of walk so be prepared.

Truly, truly a treasure. Ok, wear good shoes, only bring water to drink in the cave. Do your stretches. The natural entrance is steep cut backs, and a little disorienting at first. The cave is 56°, but very humid. The elevators cut down on a lot of the strenuous part, but still some remains. This place is absolutely worth exploring and enjoying. The option of a ranger tour, self guided tour, or electronic guided tour is great! Come early, stay all day. The 7 mile drive in is also absolutely breathtaking!

This is one of the most unique national park in America. With more than 100 huge caves, the park’s main attractions is mostly underground. The largest one claims to also be the largest in the western world, it takes 2.5 hours to hike down into the cave and elevators out. A must see for geology lovers

Definitely take the natural path down! And seeing the bars flho is really fun, too.

Ive never seen anything like this! It is well demarcated without looking to marked up with signage, so its easy to navigate. There are elevators for those who physically cant descend and ascend as required to get the full experience, but also the option to take all trails and get a great workout in a place that is otherworldly! Very reasonable entry fees. Theyre is a gift shop with junk we didnt need, and a restraint on site wed didnt try. Next time. Bring a good low light camera!

Was not able to visit. I understand 25% capacity during corona times but it was not clearly stated on the website and tickets sell out by 8am (plus im not waiting all around all day if i got there at 8am for a 1pm ticket time). Did not seem well organized

This has been our primary vet since we got our first dog 8 years ago. Location is not very convenient for us unfortunately, and prices have raised significantly in the last couple.of years. Great staff and vets though.

You’ll love this National Park! One of the most amazing places on (under) Earth.

This is a massive hole in the ground. It is very impressive and awe inspiring. My kids enjoyed it as well. Great exercise as well.

My favorite national park so far. Whats not to love. It is a well kept, amazing visually park. Like the grand canyon it is something you have to go and physically see to enjoy its amazing beauty. Everyone should go at least once in life.

This cave is huge with so many beautiful things to see! So glad we took the time to see this wonder!

A natural wonder every American should see. This is the greatest expanse of natural caves I have visited. I recommend taking the elevator down and taking the long tour around the great room. Rangers at the park are cordial and helpful. They leave you alone when you want but will answer questions and provide valuable information when needed. A great experience!

Make sure to wear your walking shoes. Good camera for dark pictures. You are allowed to take picture with flash. The only time you cant use the flash is when the bats are there in late May-October. It is cool so having a sweat shirt or light jacket works great.

Awesome adventure! Steep walk down to the great room but worth it! There is an elevator down to the great room and would be easy enough for someone with a mobility device to get around so, dont let that stop you from this incredible sight.

Always a great time whenever I visit. There is plenty see here so please do not rush through it. The self guided tour can take up to 4 hours so be prepared.

I’m sure the caverns are beautiful, but we did not get to see them. They are selling a limited number of tickets due to COVID, which is understandable. However, they refused to answer the phone. We called 5 times throughout the morning to see if they were sold out. Since there was no answer, we drove several hours out of our way to find out they were sold out. The real annoying part was when we walked into the visitor center, there were 4 people in the information booth sitting there doing nothing. How hard would it have been for one of them to answer and tell us they were sold out—or put a recording on the answering service? Total BS!

Beautiful area and cavern! Worth the $15 to tour the cave, even though most of the cavern was closed during COVID.

Huge cavern. Took about 2 hours to walk it. Suggest one take the elevator down if not in fairly good physical shape.

Cool experience, great place to see a cool cave and get a good leg work out. Make sure you are wearing comfortable shoes.

Majestic! Its like nothing Ive ever seen.

While we were there they had big covid sale going on.

It was superb. Im claustrophobic so I struggled a bit but I made it through. It was well worth the effort. I couldnt decide what to look at..... theres so much to see! The back country loop drive was nice as well.