Carlsbad Caverns Big Room: Everything You Need to Know

As I grew up reading the classic Journey to the Center of the Earth, I had an obsession with caves. Therefore, it’s not a surprise that we planned a specific road trip just to go to Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. Lies deep beneath the Chihuahuan Desert, in southeast New Mexico, Carlsbad Caverns is an enormous network of over 100 and still counting limestone caves and passageways. The actual size of Carlsbad Caverns is still unknown as new sections are continuously being discovered. Within this impressive network of caves, the Big Room is the largest, readily accessible cave chamber in North America. And the best thing is, you can explore this Big Room at your own pace. We have to say, the Big Room at Carlsbad Caverns is 100% worth visiting.

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Overview and Tips for Big Room at Carlsbad Caverns National Park

How Big is Carlsbad Caverns Big Room?

The Big Room at Carlsbad Caverns is the 5th largest single cave chamber in North America and the 28th-largest in the world. So, yes, it’s very big! It is almost 4,000 ft long, 625 ft wide, and 225 ft tall at its tallest point. The Carlsbad Caverns Big Room is about 750 ft underground. This means there is a lot to explore. There is a 1.25-mile paved trail, looping through the cave that features impressive rock formations and interesting sculptures.

How Do I Access the Carlsbad Caverns Big Room?

There are two ways to access the Big Room at Carlsbad Caverns. You can either hike down into the cave from the surface using the Natural Entrance Trail or take an elevator from the Visitor Center down to the chamber. The Natural Entrance Trail is a steep 1.25 mile, dropping 750ft underground. We highly recommend doing the Natural Entrance Trail going down into the cave. It gives the adventure a whole different perspective. Pro-tip: You can take the elevator instead of hiking back up!!

The Natural Entrance Trail is the only way to get to the Carlsbad Caverns Big Room. Once you get down to the Big Room, the Big Room Trail will take you around the actual cave chamber.

Do I Need to Make a Reservation, and What is the Cost?

You will need to have a timed entry ticket to enter Carlsbad Caverns, doesn’t matter if you use the Natural Entrance or by elevator. You can either get your ticket at the Visitor Center, online or by calling 877-444-6777. We highly recommend getting your ticket in advance, especially during the peak season. At this time, it is $1/ticket. This timed entry ticket is different from the entrance fee. You’ll still have to pay for entrance fee of $15/person unless you have an Interagency Pass.

How Much Time Do I Need?

Believe it or not, we took all day here! We started our hike down the Natural Entrance at 9 am and didn’t leave until closing time at 4:30 pm. There was so much to see, especially along the Big Room Trail. We would say, it’ll take about 1-1.5 hours hiking down the Natural Entrance and at least 3 hours for the Big Room Trail to do it justice.

Operating Hours

The visitor center opens at 8 am and the first time entry is at 8:30 am. The last entrance ticket is sold at 2:15 pm, and you need to be starting your entry into the cave by 2:30 pm. The last elevator OUT of the cavern is at 4:45 pm so make sure you get there on time. You can check here for the latest info.

Are Pets Allowed?

Pets are NOT allowed inside the caverns.

Other Important Info

Plain water is the only thing that is allowed inside the caverns. Candy, tobacco, vaping products, or gum are NOT allowed. There are drink fountains and a limited snack bar at the underground rest area near the elevator inside the Big Room. Food purchased in the underground snack bar must be consumed there. The snack bar is only open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Wear comfortable shoes. We recommend hiking or sturdy shoes. Please don’t wear sandals or flip-flops.
Bring a jacket. The average cave temperature is 56 degrees with 90% humidity year-round. It can get cold if you’re down here for too long.
Camera and the use of flash are allowed, except during the bat flight.
Please don’t wear or bring any items that have been in any other caves or mines. This would help stop the spread of the White-nose Syndrome, a disease that affects hibernating bats.
Please don’t touch any rocks, formations or cave features or leave any trash. The ecosystem inside the cave is very delicate. Even the little oil on your skin can cause damage to the cave.

The Adventure

The Natural Entrance Trail

The Start of the Natural Entrance Trail

To get to the cavern entrance, we have to go through the Visitor Center, pass the exhibit room, and toward the side door. The paved path outside the door leads toward a small pavilion where we have to show our timed entry ticket to a Ranger. The Ranger also gave us a quick rundown about what we needed to know before sending us on our way. After passing the bat amphitheater, we reached the cave opening. By the way, this trail is not wheelchair accessible as it snakes between rock walls and formations. There are a few steep sections along the way.

At the cave opening, there is a paved path, zigzagging down into the dark hole. This path looks like it could go on forever, and it does. You’ll be descending about 750ft into the center of the earth. Soon enough, we lost the sunlight beaming through the cave opening. All we had left was the dimly lit lights, strategically located throughout the trail. Even though it was dimly lit, the lights were enough for us to see where we were going and to appreciate all the beautiful cave features around us.

Along the Natural Entrance Trail

As we went deeper, the cave features such as cave popcorns, soda straws, flowstone, stalagmites, and stalactite columns became more impressive. One of the popular formations here is the Whales Mouth. Along the way, we also saw the remnants of the old access staircase before the elevator was built. That would have been a lot of stairs going back up.

After 1.5 miles of descent, we reached the end of the Natural Entrance Trail and the start of the Big Room. There are signages showing the start of the Big Room Trail, as well as the way to the elevator, restroom, and rest area.

The Big Room Trail

The Start of the Big Room Trail

Along the Way

We love how the lights are strategically placed along the trail. They help illuminate all the impressive and unique features of the cave. This way, we could see all the cool spirals, columns, and draperies. We can’t imagine the cave explorers back then, discovering this place with just some lanterns. They wouldn’t have been able to appreciate all these geology wonders like we do today.

As much as we’re trying to describe the beauty of this place in words, photos, and videos, it is impossible to do so. No matter how many photos or videos we took, it won’t do the Carlsbad Cavern Big Room justice. We highly recommend visiting this amazing place in person.

What Else Can I Do Around Here?

Well, you’re not too far from White Sands National Park. It is such a unique place with cool and soft white sand, the perfect place to go sand sledding or hiking barefoot. If you’re driving through Arizona, we recommend stopping by the Chiricahua National Monument. It is such a gorgeous place full of interesting gray/green hoodoos.

Happy Adventuring. Don’t forget to check out the related posts below for more inspiration on your upcoming adventures. While you’re at it, go follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our Youtube channel! We’ll love you forever!

These are the gear that we personally use and find them helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.

adventure gear

This is our favourite hiking shoes. We use them for canyoneering as well. Lots of traction. Vy’s version.

Dustin’s version for La Sportiva shoes

There isn’t a lot of shade in the desert. Make sure to use lots of sunscreens! We use eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen, Stream2Sea SPF 30.

Face sunscreen is also important. We love these tinted, organic All Good Organic Sunscreen Butter.

You should bring plenty of water on your hikes. Vy loves the Camelback L.U.X.E.

For shorter hikes, the Patagonia Women’s Nine Trails Pack 18L is perfect to hold water and your essentials.

Sedona can get very cold in the winters and springs. We love our packable Patagonia Puff Jackets! You can get Vy’s version here, and Dustin’s version here.