Visited Carlsbad Caverns National Park today, and it is unlike anything I have ever seen. Driving towards the park entrance, you would never suspect there is a national park nearby. Southeastern New Mexico is the far edge of the Permian Basin, so the surrounding landscape is covered with oil rigs. Not the neighbors you typically expect for a national park.
While Carlsbad Caverns is located in southeastern New Mexico, it’s actually most easily accessed via Texas. With New Mexico’s population centers located in the northern part of the state, the park draws most of its visitors from western Texas. Once you actually make it to the park, the rest is a piece of cake. The caverns are accessible via an elevator in the visitor center. Once you reach the caverns, there is a 1.5 mile long trail which takes you to everything you want to see. Unlike most other National Parks, Carlsbad Caverns doesn’t really require any advanced research. Just walk the trail and you’re going to see all the good stuff.
Normally I would attempt to more fully describe the park’s scenery, but I’m still digesting what I saw. All I can say is it’s amazing. For now I’ll leave you with some of the pictures I took today.
Just beautiful 😍
Are the caverns fully explored, or are they still finding new passages?