Carlsbad Caverns National Park guide · 2 min read
Slaughter Canyon, Spider and Lechuguilla Caves
Sulfuric acid dissolving limestone created more than 119 caves beneath the Chihuahuan Desert near Carlsbad, New Mexico.
The best known of them, Carlsbad Caverns, is lit by electricity and served by elevators and paved walkways. Public tours run in three of these caves, while several undeveloped wild caves are reached on ranger-led trips.
Slaughter Canyon Cave sits in a detached part of the park, inside the canyon that shares its name. Reaching the entrance means hiking the Slaughter Canyon Cave Trail, a difficult half-mile path that gains 500 feet in elevation. Plan on roughly 45 minutes of steady climbing before you stand at the mouth of the cave, with wide views of the canyon opening up as you go. Going inside requires a ranger guide, and the tour visits several formations.
Reaching the interior of Spider Cave involves a great deal of crawling, so it suits people at ease in tight spaces. Adventure caving tours to the wild caves call for good health and hard physical work. Bring clothes you don't mind ruining, because the tours can leave them filthy.
Apart from the designated paths used on guided tours, Slaughter Canyon Cave and Spider Cave have not been developed. The rock and formations remain largely in their natural state, so a tour offers a close look at the park's wild side, with a guide leading the way.
Lechuguilla Cave is known for delicate formations and a pristine underground setting, and entry is limited to scientists on approved expeditions to protect it. Park managers agreed to let cavers dig through a heap of rubble, and the air moving through its gaps shifted with the weather outside. That opening led into a room in 1986. Teams have since charted more than 120 miles of passage, reaching 1,600 feet deep. Among limestone caves in the nation, only one is deeper.
