Day 21: Carlsbad Caverns + White Sands National Parks
If you find yourself in Southern New Mexico with a free day to kill, I can’t recommend the one-two punch of Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands National Park highly enough. The two wildly different landscapes make you feel as though you’ve just bopped between two different planets, and you can fully experience both parks in less than 12 hours.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
National Park #6
We started bright and early with Carlsbad Caverns. Due to COVID, Carlsbad Caverns halted all of its ranger led expeditions in the more remote sections of the caverns, leaving only one section open to exploration: “The Big Room.” Initially, I was disappointed, thinking “The Big Room” would be short and lame and jam packed with other spelunkers. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Our early arrival (8:30 am) meant that we were some of the first people allowed into the caverns. That coupled with the fact that we couldn’t hike the 800-odd feet down the natural entrance because I had twisted my ankle at Guadalupe Mountains the day before and had to take the elevator down, meant that for the first 15 - 20 minutes it felt like we had the cavern all to ourselves. This is my preferred way to enjoy National Parks — allowed to go at my own pace and not feel rushed by other people.
And the name “The Big Room” doesn’t do the main section of Carlsbad Caverns justice. The trek was not short or lame. We were down there for a solid 2 hours ogling the various formations that water, acid, rock and gravity produce. I was appropriately wowed.
Once we were done with The Big Room, we took the elevator up and embarked on the 3 hour and 20 minute drive to White Sands National Park.
White Sands National Park
National Park #7
We arrived at the White Sands Visitors Center around 3:30, rented some sleds to take down the dunes, and set out to explore. White Sands is one of our newest National Parks, and it’s not particularly varied in terms of scenery, but it is absolutely stunning in its simplicity and unique as the largest gypsum dune field on the planet.
White Sands is also the most tactile National Park we’ve experienced yet. Usually there’s a lot of signs asking you not to touch things. Not here. In addition to sledding down the dunes, I derived joy from sticking my feet in the warm, soft sand. To take a picture of a pretty desert plant, I walked up to it and laid down and didn’t want to get up. Gypsum sand…it hits different.
The best thing (to me) about these National Parks is that we were able to spend 2-4 hours at each and not feel like we skimped on the experience. I have a lot of anxiety and FOMO, frequently thinking, “What if we never come back to this place and miss the best thing it has to offer!” But here, despite the limited time we spent, I felt nothing but joy.
We ended the day at Chala’s Woodfire Grill in Mesilla, NM based on a recommendation from a friend. I had the Christmas Enchiladas (featuring both red and green enchilada sauce) which may have been the best enchiladas I’ve ever eaten. Kory had the green chili cheeseburger, and we split some chicken tacos. A-MAY-ZING. I would come back just for the food.
13/10 would come back and do the entire day again.
What you need to know:
Carlsbad Caverns are just a 30 minute drive north from Guadalupe Mountains National Park. If you take time to go to the caverns, its well worth the trip south as well.
The caverns are over 1,000 feet underground - so yeah, no cell service of Wi-Fi here.
When you go to White Sands, it’s well worth the $20 (or $15 for rental) to buy a sled for the dunes. You can get these at the visitor center and you won’t be sad.
White Sands National Park is next door neighbors to White Sands Missile Range. Learn all about it’s fascinating history and connection to the Manhattan Project here.
Cell service is spotty at White Sands but you will get a couple bars depending on where you’re at in the park. There is no Wi-Fi available in the park.