Anybody here spent much time in the Carlsbad Cavern National Park / Guadalupe National Park / Lincoln National Forest area? I'm considering driving out there from Houston for Thanksgiving weekend and just wondered if anyone had any experiences / recommendations (lodging / hiking / food). I'm debating camping but haven't gotten a good feel on the weather yet. Surrounding area looks pretty sparse (and Carlsbad itself isn't apparently that great either). I'm definetly a no frills type so a lack amenities and such don't bother me
Carlsbad Caverns NP / Guadalupe National Park visit
- Thread starter Sousaclone
- Start date
I live up the road from there in Roswell. Lodging in general is surprisingly expensive in this area for two reasons - people attending the federal law enforcement training center in Artesia get paid a large housing stipend, and oil companies pay a lot of money to put their workers up in hotels. Everything in Whites City, which is actually closer to Carlsbad Caverns than the city of Carlsbad, is especially pricey.
Carlsbad:
Carlsbad:
- The cave is incredible - my suggestion is to walk down through the natural entrance and take the elevator out.
- If you want to do anything other than the main tour (Left hand tunnel, King's Palace, etc.) then you have to book tickets ahead of time on recreation.gov. I think they do have a certain number of "walk-up" tickets available, but those are hard to get so I definitely would not count on them.
- If you want to do Slaughter Canyon cave, then that will take most of a day. Again, book tickets ahead of time. I haven't been in that one yet because I've been waiting for the weather to cool down (it's a bit of a hike across open land to that cave).
- Rattlesnake Springs (down in Slaughter Canyon area) is a really nice oasis where you might see some wildlife, and it has a nice picnic area.
- Haven't spent much time here, but this is entirely a hiking park.
- Dog Canyon campground is nice and secluded, but it's a bit of a drive to get there.
- It's easy to find free spots to camp if you don't care about having any amenities at all.
- Sitting Bull Falls - ~160 foot waterfall. Managed by Forest Service, daylight hours only, $5 entrance fee. The turn to go there is along highway 285 between Carlsbad and Artesia. It's about 30 miles off the highway.
- Generally speaking - good luck finding a restaurant in SE New Mexico that's open past 8PM on weekdays and 9PM on weekends.
- I'm not very familiar with restaurants outside of Roswell.
- Roswell has a couple of good burger places: Todzilla's and Big D's Downtown Dive
- Mexican food (Roswell) - Martin's Capitol Cafe is good. People will tell you Pepper's is good, but I wasn't impressed.
Carlsbad Caverns: Start with the Natural Entrance Route/Tour which is self guided. This will take 30-60 minutes depending on how much you stop. The underground dining room is at the end of the Natural Entrance route. There are restrooms there. From there you start the self guided Big Room Tour. The Big Room Tour is one of the best cave tours I've been on.
Above ground at Carlsbad Caverns: Walnut Canyon Scenic Drive is a one way gravel road that starts on top of the plateau and then winds down to the canyon floor and back to the main park road. I've seen Barbary Sheep also known as Aoudad. They are an introduced speices similar to desert big horn sheep. Most of the trails off of the main park road are very short and not that great.
Guadalupe Mtn National Park: By Thanksgiving, most of the color in McKittrick Canyon will be gone. McKitrick Canyon is called the most beautiful spot in Texas in the fall. It has Maples, Oaks, Ashes, Pines; very colorful with tall mountains on soaring up on both sides. At the end are some historic ranch buildings. 2nd favorite hike is on the hard to reach west side of the park (just a lot longer drive) Salt Basin Dunes. They are one of three White Gypsum Dunes in the U.S. similar to White Sands National Monument. Great to see in the late afternoon. A third hike is back on the eastern side - Devil's Hall Trail. It's shorter than McKittrick Canyon and you have to ascend the Staircase to get to Devil's Hall. Finally the most famous trail in the park Guadalupe Peak. You mentioned camping. Get a permit to camp at one of the sites off of the trail. Hike up in the afternoon and set up camp. Then hike to the top for sunrise.
Lincoln Nat'l Forest: Sitting Bull Falls, for me is a must see. It's a 160 foot waterfall. Not sure how much water it will have in November, but the source of the falls are a spring (that is what I have been told) so it should still be flowing. Sitting Bull Falls is located on the most driven route to Guadalupe Mtn Nat'l Parks Dog Canyon (north section). Unless you're planning a multi day hike from one of the Dog Canyon Trailheads, I would skip driving out this far.But I would drive to Sitting Bull Falls.
