Carlsbad Caverns - New Mexico
A wonderful place to spend a "winter" vacation. The Caverns are located south of Carlsbad, New Mexico and 6.8 miles within the site. For an entrance fee of $6.00 a person you can explore the massive cave by yourself on a self guided trip. RedbirdTx recommends the self guided tour starting from the cave entrance. You can take an elevator down but you will miss about half the sites. The temperature is 56 degrees year around. When you reach the bottom 750 feet down there is an elevator to take you to the top. It will take about 2 to 2 1/2 hours to complete the cave tour.The following is a sample of what you will see. It is difficult to take photographs in the cave since the light is very dim. Flash photography over lights the formations that are close and doesn't reach the distant structures. If your camera allows an ISO adjustment, use 800 as a minimum and in the darker portions of the cave you may have to go as high as 1500. The alternative is to use a tripod but carrying it down the trails and keeping it out of the way of other cave visitors is difficult.
Return to Top