Linda Harvey
Carlsbad Caverns National Park (NP) in New Mexico was the topic for the National Parks Club November 2024 meeting. We were fortunate to have National Park Service Ranger Wil Torpy via Zoom provide us with some special insight into this amazing park site. In 1995, Carlsbad Caverns NP was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one of 26 such sites in the U.S.
There are over 120 known caves located in Carlsbad Caverns NP. Carlsbad Cavern, for which the park is named, is one of the largest with 30 miles of underground trails. The most popular place for visitors is the Big Room, which is a space within Carlsbad Cavern. The floor is 8.2 acres in size and is among the largest cave chambers by volume in North America. This area is developed for public tours. Ranger Wil’s pictures helped show the massive expanse of the Big Room with stalagmites and stalactites that make this a special place to visit.
One way to get to the Big Room is via the Natural Entrance Trail, a 1.25 mile self-guided route leading down a winding, paved path that takes about an hour to complete. There is also an elevator that is faster, but the rider misses the 750 foot natural descent with the sights like Iceberg Rock and Devil’s Den along the way. Some people walk down and take the elevator up. Either way is a huge improvement over the guano bucket used until 1925 to lower visitors to the area.
Ranger Wil emphasized the importance of making reservations for a time to visit the Big Room prior to even driving to Carlsbad Caverns NP. So that no one is disappointed not getting a reservation, he led us through a tutorial on how to use Recreation.gov, the primary way to make the reservations.
Another well-known cave in the park is the Lechuguilla Cave. While the cave is closed to visitors except for research, survey, and exploration, it is notable in its own right and helps put perspective to Carlsbad Caverns NP. In 1986 a group of cavers were given permission from the National Park Service to begin digging to investigate what they thought might be an underground river. After two years of work the “breakthrough” occurred when the cavers were met with 60-70 mph wind, not water. Since then explorers have found a fantastic array of rare mineral formations.
Lechuguilla Cave lies beneath a park wilderness area, but comes very close to adjacent Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. Oil and gas drilling on BLM-managed areas could leak gas or fluids into the cave’s passages, killing cave life, destroying the fragile ecosystem, and threatening the safety of people inside the cave. The park is actively managing resources to minimize threats.
The club thanks Ranger Wil for his informative presentation.
Upcoming SBR National Parks Club meetings are Wednesday, Feb. 12 and Wednesday, March 12. Join the club through Team Reach by entering SBRNP2024.