Our May 2015 trip to the Southwest continued with a visit to Carlsbad Caverns National Park in southeast New Mexico. The park visitor center is located 7¼ miles west of Whites City at the end of Highway 7. Whites City is about 20 miles southwest of the town of Carlsbad, New Mexico by way of US 62/180. The visitor center houses restrooms, an information desk, a gift shop, a cafeteria style restaurant, an exhibit area, a bookstore and a ticket counter. One notable absence is the lack of a theater and park movie.
An admission fee is charged for entrance to the cavern by either the elevator in the visitor center or the natural entrance. A pair of large elevators transports visitors 750 feet between the visitor center and the Big Room. The original elevator shaft was completed in August 1931 with the first elevator installed in November 1931. A new elevator shaft was begun in January 1954 and completed on July 8, 1954. Two large capacity elevators were installed and placed in service in 1955. These elevators were renovated beginning in August 2010 and placed back in service in April 2014.
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| Sculpture near the entrance |
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| Gift shop, restaurant and information to the left |
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| A portion of the large gift shop |
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| Anticipating long ticket lines? |
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| Exhibit area to the right of the entrance |
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| Model of the cavern with the visitor center on top |
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| Model of the Big Room and other features |
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| Model of the natural entrance trail and the nearby elevator |
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| Additional exhibits in the museum |
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| The exit side of one of the elevators |
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| After leaving the elevator, visitors must pass through the bookstore to exit the visitor center |
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| Administrative and residential park service buildings cover the hillside |
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| Looking south into west Texas |
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| El Capitan in Guadalupe Mountains National Park is clearly visible on the horizon over 30 miles away |
An entrance fee of $10 per person is required to enter the cavern for either of the two self-guided tours: Natural Entrance and Big Room. The fee is valid for 3 days. Other options include an Interagency Annual Pass providing access to most national park, national forest and BLM fee areas for $80 and a lifetime Interagency Senior Pass for those age 62 and older for $10. Ranger-led tours require additional fees of $7 to $20 that are discounted for Senior and Access Pass holders, but not for Annual Pass holders.
The park website is http://www.nps.gov/cave/index.htm.
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