Exploring Carlsbad Caverns with kids is absolutely magical!
There’s nothing like seeing their face as they enter the cave’s Big Room and take in the towering formations.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a breathtaking cave hidden under the mountains in the middle of the New Mexico desert.
I’ve been to Carlsbad several times — with kids and without.
Here are all of my favorite things to do in Carlsbad Caverns with kids (or adults)!
Tour the Big Room in Carlsbad Caverns with kids
Carlsbad Caverns is a stunning, highly decorated cave. The abundance of formations will take your breath away. There are stalactites, stalagmites, columns, soda straws, and so much more!
The Big Room is the largest room in the cave, and one of the largest in North America!
You can enter the Big Room one of two ways: take an elevator or walk down the Natural Entrance trail (more on that later).
Once you’re in the Big Room, walk the 1.25-mile loop to explore the beautiful formations in the cave. The walk is self-guided.
Strollers aren’t allowed, but bring a hiking backpack or baby carrier for littles.
However, some parts of the Big Room are accessible for wheelchairs. Learn more about accessibility here.
How to enter the Big Room
To tour the Big Room, you must have a timed entry reservation. You can — and should — book this online in advance. It’s only $1.
Plus, reservations often sell out, especially on weekends. Book in advance!
That said, a timed entry reservation doesn’t mean you won’t wait in a line.
The timed entry represents the time when you can line up at the visitor center to enter the cave — any time between the time on your reservation and 2:30 p.m.
You’ll wait in the line to show your reservation to the park officials and pay your entrance fee. (The fee can be covered by an interagency pass, like the America the Beautiful Pass.)
We visited Carlsbad Caverns over Labor Day weekend and waited in line for more than half an hour. I stood in line while my husband took the kids to explore the visitor center and gift shop.
Important: Do not wear any clothes or shoes that have been brought into other caves or mines. A disease called White-Nose Syndrome is killing bats in North America and can be unintentionally tracked into the cave on our clothes and shoes.
Walk the Natural Entrance into Carlsbad Caverns with kids
Visitors enter the caverns one of two ways: by taking an elevator down or hiking the very steep Natural Entrance.
I’ve been to Carlsbad Caverns multiple times, but 2025 was my first time walking the Natural Entrance. I’ll never take the elevator down again — the Natural Entrance was that incredible!
There’s something spectacular about walking from the desert above into the cool, dark cave below.
The trail is a very steep 1.25 miles down. It passes beautiful formations like Witch’s Fingers and Devil’s Spring.
Pro tip: Strollers aren’t allowed in the cavern, but do bring a hiking backpack or baby carrier for littles. Trust me, you don’t want to carry a toddler with tired legs all the way down and then around the Big Room. Ask me how I know.
Watch 200,000+ bats take flight
If you visit Carlsbad during the summer months, I highly recommend the Bat Flight Program!
Carlsbad Caverns is home to hundreds of thousands of Brazilian free-tailed bats.
(Don’t worry, you likely won’t see the bats while you’re inside the cave itself. The bats live outside the main area of the Natural Entrance Trail.)
But you can watch them exit the cave every evening from April through October!
The program is free and absolutely worth it!
The bats leave the cave to look for insects to eat each night. The first bats start to appear as the sun sets. Soon, tens of thousands are flying right above your head!
For an extra amazing bat flight, visit during August and September when the baby bats join the flight!
Watching the bat flight made visiting Carlsbad Caverns with kids even more perfect.
Important: No cameras, phones, or other electronics are allowed during the bat program. Electronics can disrupt the bats and alter their behavior. The rangers are very strict about this and will escort anyone with electronics out of the amphitheater during the program. Rangers also discourage noise so as to not disturb the bats.
Learn about cave formations in the visitor center
While waiting for your timed entry reservation, explore the visitor center at Carlsbad Caverns with kids.
Pick up Junior Ranger activity books, crawl through an imitation cave tunnel, trail your fingers over the cave map, and learn all about the various formations.
Become a Junior Ranger — and Junior Bat Biologist
You can’t visit Carlsbad Caverns with kids without swearing in as a Junior Ranger!
Plus, I’ll let you in on a little secret: Not only does Carlsbad Caverns have a Junior Ranger badge, but it also has a Junior Bat Biologist badge!
The Bat Biologist book includes information and activities about the bats that call the cave home.
Pick up both free books at the Visitor Center, complete the activities, and turn them in for your Junior Ranger badges.
Bonus: Visit Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Most people know about Carlsbad Caverns, but just 45 minutes down the road is another spectacular National Park: Guadalupe Mountains!
The Guadalupe Mountains are a stunning mountain range that is home to Texas’s tallest peak. And hiding below that mountain range is Carlsbad Caverns!
Guadalupe Mountains is such an underrated park and a great one to visit with kids. Definitely add it to your itinerary!
It’s fascinating to explore the same mountain range in two different states and two totally different national parks — one above the surface and one below.
Check out my post on the best things to do in Guadalupe Mountains with kids.
Another Bonus: Visit a McDonalds that’s out of this world in Roswell
If you pass through nearby Rowell on your way to or from Carlsbad Caverns with kids, stop at the UFO McDonald’s!
The McDonalds is shaped like a flying saucer and celebrates Roswell’s quirky legacy as an alien hot spot.
Kids will love the spaceship-themed play area and alien statues.
Where to stay near Carlsbad Caverns with kids
We stayed at an AirBnb in Carlsbad, New Mexico, when we visited the caverns and Guadalupe Mountains. It made a great home base to visit both parks.
Carlsbad has boomed in the past decade as oil drilling in the Permian Basin has expanded.
There are several new chain hotels that are great for families and several rental houses too.
When to visit Carlsbad Caverns with kids
Carlsbad Caverns is great to visit year-round, because the cave stays at a steady 56ºF. (Bring a jacket.)
That said, if you’re hoping to see the Bat Flight Program, you must visit between April and October. The bat flights are particularly big in August and September when the baby bats, born in the beginning of summer, join the flight.
That said, if you’re also hoping to visit Guadalupe Mountains National Park, timing this trip is trickier. Guadalupe Mountains can get hot. We had unusually cool and misty weather for Labor Day, so don’t let our foggy photos fool you.
To avoid the heat of the day, we spent our mornings in Guadalupe Mountains, then the afternoon and evening at Carlsbad Caverns.
I hope you have a wonderful trip to Carlsbad with kids!
Are you planning more New Mexico adventures with kids?
Check out my posts on more amazing New Mexico adventures and to other National Parks sites around the state.
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