Carlsbad Caverns
3225 National Parks Highway Carlsbad, NM 88220 (575) 785-2232
- Fax:
- (575) 785-2302
- Website:
- visit the website
Carlsbad Caverns National Park was established on October 25, 1923 in order to preserve the more than 100 known caves. The Park also contains Lechuguilla Cave, which is the nation’s deepest limestone cave at 1,567 feet (478m) and fourth longest. Carlsbad Cavern, with one of the world’s largest underground chambers and countless formations. It is also highly accessible, with a variety of tours offered year-round. The evening flight of Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana) from the entrance of Carlsbad Cavern is one of the park’s principal visitor attractions. Free-tailed bats are a colonial species that feed entirely on insects. The colony at Carlsbad is comprised primarily of females who give birth to their young from June through July before migrating south in October to winter in Mexico.