Self-Guided Tour of Carlsbad Cavern, 4/16/2018

With our departure from Carlsbad, NM, planned for 4/18, we decided to explore Carlsbad Cavern, just one of 119 caves found in the National Park (thus far) by hiking the Natural Entrance to the Big Room Trail. The self-guided cave hiking tours are almost 4 miles and require a steep 75-story hike into and out of the cavern (the elevator is temporarily out of service for repairs). Below is a map representing the route we took from the Natural Entrance and through the Big Room. 

The cavern was discovered in 1898 when Jim White (age 16) saw bats emerging from the large Natural Entrance. He returned the next day with ropes, wire and a lantern to begin exploring the cave, an activity he continued to pursue for the next 45 years. All of the caves here were formed by sulfuric acid dissolving limestone, leaving behind large and small caverns.

A trail (completed in 1956) has been built from the Natural Entrance to and around the Big Room. Prior to that visitors were dropped into the cave in a large bucket on a cable and walked out via wooden staircases (very rickety!)

With a year-round temperature of 56 degrees, a jacket is recommended along with good walking shoes (we wore our hiking boots). Also, we brought plenty of water but no food is permitted along the trail (to preserve the environment of the cave). Because noise carries up to 1/4 mile in the cavern, a quiet voice is requested to help everyone enjoy the experience.

The Bat Cave, where 400,000 free-tail bats roost from March to October, is located behind this area where these stalactites can be seen not far from the entrance. Forty feet of bat guano can be found on the floor of that room. No trails access it to protect the habitat. 

The trail leads through an area called the Twilight Zone where some natural light continues to enter the cave from the entrance. 

Devils Spring (named by Jim White, like most of the formations here) is not really a spring, but a pool fed by dripping water into a limestone cavity. There are no springs flowing into or out of Carlsbad Cavern. Check out the large columns.

The Whales Mouth is comprised of draperies and flowstone cave formations. The second photo is of a cave formation known as popcorn. 

The lighting system in the cave was designed by a Broadway lighting designer to accentuate the interesting formations and natural found here. 

This totem pole formation is a long, narrow stalagmite names Witch’s Finger. The second is more popcorn (layered on top of each other). The third is an area named Boneyard where the limestone is riddled with holes like Swiss cheese. 

We reached the Big Room, the largest known natural limestone chamber in the Northern Hemisphere. At 600,000 square feet, it is literally filled with speleothems (calcite cave decorations named stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, draperies, columns, popcorn and soda straws). The loop trail through the Big Room is 1.25 miles. 

Below is a formation (stalactite with popcorn at the end) known as Lions Tail. The next one is of a 62’ column with flowstone in the Hall of Giants (there are three more columns similar to the one shown).

Fairyland has many stalagmites covered with popcorn formations. And Temple of the Sun is another huge column. 

There are so many cave formations here that it is mind-boggling!

We passed several more pools of water in limestone cavities and then came to this wire ladder, installed in 1924 by Jim White. It descends 90’ to the Lower Cave and was used for a six-month exploration project by the National Geographic Society. The fourth photo was taken looking into the Bottomless Pit. 

Of course, it is not really bottomless (140’ deep) but seemed that way to early explorers of the cave. Above it is a huge dome making the distance from the floor of the pit to the top of the dome 370’. Wow! You definitely need to stay on the trail lest you fall off a cliff.

Crystal Spring Dome is the largest speleothem still growing in the cave and is surrounded by a drip pool at the base. Most (95%) of the cave formations are dry (no longer growing). Also shown are other formations I found interesting. 

Painted Grotto, the diminuitative Dolls House, and the Chinese Theatre are three more named formations in this part of the Big Room.

Completing the tour of the Big Room, we went to the Lunchroom (where we ate the lunch we packed) and Rest Area. There is also a small gift shop and snack shop here. The elevators (when operational) are near this area .

The 75-story climb back to the surface was strenuous and I have to admit, we stopped multiple times along the way! But there are lots of benches where you can rest. Be sure to have plenty of water with you. 

This was a once-in-a-lifetimes experience! Many of the cave formations are absolutely gorgeous, both large and small. And the massive size of the Big Room is hard to fathom. This is a place you need to see if you ever have the opportunity to do so. Loved it!

For additional information about Carlsbad Caverns National Park, cave tours, hiking tours, etc., go to www.nps.gov/cave.