Carlsbad Caverns National Park

The Natural Entrance to Carlsbad Cavern.

Temple of the Sun in the Big Room of Carlsbad Cavern.

Walnut Canyon in Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

Hidden in the Guadalupe Mountains, Carlsbad Caverns National Park contains 46,766 acres of rugged mountain land and more than 100 caves.

The park's most famous cave, Carlsbad Cavern, has a mapped length of 27 miles and is famous for its colony of 300,000 Mexican free-tail bats. For specific bat flight program times, call 505-785-3012.

The cavern is decorated with stalagmites and stalactites, flow stone, columns, cave pearls and other formations. Some were formed more than 500,000 years ago after most of the cavern was carved.

Ceiling heights range from crawl spaces to 200-foot arches and the depth reaches to 829 feet below the surface.

A variety of self-guided and ranger-led walking tours are available at Carlsbad Cavern and other backcountry caves. Reservations are required for ranger-guided tours. Off-trail tours may involve crawling through tight passageways and climbing, but the rewards include hidden cavern pools and fossils.

Above ground, the park's trail system includes 50 miles of steep, backcountry desert trails. There are no developed campgrounds in the park, but backpacking is permitted with a permit. Campfires are prohibited.

At dusk during summer, cavern visitors are treated to the sight of thousands of bats flying out of the cavern entrance in their daily hunt for food. Their exodus from the cavern can last as long as two hours, with huge columns of bats spiraling out of the darkness.