I am planning to visit Carlsbad Caverns at the end of May. I have already booked a couple of tours-I have learned one has to book any National Park tours very early. Has anyone any suggestions on things to do in the area? We are making a long trip of this and have tentative plans to go as far as Tucson. Ideas welcome. 
If you’re driving thataway you can’t miss Guadalupe Mountains National Park since you’ll be driving right past it. Like Carlsbad, park entry per se is free and it is worthwhile to stop and look around at the immense, up-close mountains even if you don’t go hiking (for which there is a small self-pay fee.) You can see a lot of it from the road, but taking the time to stop and look around adds something to it. If you do like hiking of any distance then Guadalupe Mountains park is for you since there is a hike for any length you wish, even a fairly short one that will take you to an old ranch house and a lovely little spring.
Just past that on the same road is the salt flats. Not much to look at so if you stop make sure it’s at the historical marker where they explain the Salt Wars.
One thing that underwhelmed me was Sitting Bull Falls, the only medium-to-large waterfall in the area. I guess I was unimpressed since I’ve seen so many falls in my lifetime. I just had to see it since I’ve been in the area so many times, but it takes over an hour to get to from Carlsbad and so IMO it is not worth the drive (and the drive is through mostly but not entirely unimpressive terrain as well.)
But good call on the tours! Every time I go to the Caverns I try to book a different tour.
I’d recommend staying at the Caverns until evening to see the nightly bat flight when thousands and thousands of bats leave the cave to feed. It’s an impressive sight. Note that they do not allow photography.
About 150 miles west of Carlsbad is White Sands National Monument, also worth a visit.
Thanks!
My wife just heard about the bats. It will take some persuading but I am hopeful.
I’ve been several times. For me, getting there early and walking down into the natural entrance, with the cave swallows twittering and swirling all around is one of the premier experiences of any National Park. (video I took last year) If you get there when the cave opens they “meter” the number of people going in so you have a good chance to have parts of the cave all to yourself.
The Slaughter Canyon tour is definitely worth taking as long as you’re up for the hike to the entrance. The trail to the entrance isn’t too long, but it’s kind of steep and there is no shade. Good hiking shoes and a decent flashlight are a must.
The hotel at Whites City is just okay, but staying there is worth it if you want to cut down on travel time. They have a nice pool area and in the evening you can see nighthawks flying around catching bugs attracted by the streetlights.
As others have mentioned, Guadalupe Mtns is down the road a bit and worth a half-day excursion. The Smith Spring trail is a fairly short hike to a cool desert oasis that starts off at Frijole Ranch. Don’t forget to take water and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
If it helps, let her know that you don’t have to watch from the amphitheater, up close. You can get a good view from a little farther away, on the sidewalk leading in. Also, the bats fly pretty much straight up a good ways before heading out across the countryside to eat bugs. They are far above the heads of the spectators. More info here including this:
It really is a spectacular sight; the ‘cloud’ of bats seems to stretch for miles across the evening sky.
I’ve only been there once so others will have a better idea of what to do. Just understand that “in the area” is a relative term in that part of the country. When I was in Fort Bliss for deployment training someone had a map of the east coast with an outline of the military property in West Texas/New Mexico superimposed on top. The Bliss/White Sands property went from Baltimore to Trenton. We travelled to White Sands and Carlsbad and a few other sites. There are hours of driving in between everything. When you get the first inkling of “should I get gas?” get gas.
More stuff to see and do in southeastern New Mexico:
Highway 82 heading west out of Artesia gets more and more scenic as you get closer to Alamogordo. Plenty of places to stop and take pictures. Turn south on the Sunspot Highway in Cloudcroft to visit the National Solar Observatory.
Not too far north of Alamogordo and Cloudcroft is Ruidoso, surrounded by beautiful mountain scenery. There are two different zip lines near Ruidoso.
A little farther north are the small towns of Capitan and Lincoln (where Billy the Kid lived). They have a nice museum in Lincoln. It used to be the jail, from which Billy the Kid once escaped. He killed two deputies in the process and there is a bullet hole in the wall which he supposedly made.
Along Hwy. 54 north of Alamogordo is Three Rivers Petroglyphs with thousands of examples of rock art.
Oh yeah, if you get a chance, see if you can get a peek of Carlsbad’s giant sinkhole!
Those are both a bit of a haul to Carlsbad, but certainly worth checking out if they’re on the way to/from wherever you’re coming from/going to.
Capitan is home to the very cool Smokey Bear Historical Park. There’s also the Smokey Bear Gift Shop/Museum next door which has a big collection of historic memorabilia along with the usual tourist trinkets. Very friendly folks in both places.
Wear, very comfortable shoes with good grip. The guided tour is a considerable walk.
That gets you to the underground store. We bought slides and other souvenirs.
There’s an optional cave you can walk without a guide. It’s BIG. Seemed like we walked over an hour. (after 40 years my memory is fuzzy). The cave walkway circles back to the store.
Elevator takes you up and to the exit.
My middle aged parents were sore for a couple days. I was 13 and felt fine after a good night’s rest.
Carlsbad was the greatest vacation during my childhood.
Yeah, you’re right. But there’s so much to see in that area! I guess I got carried away.
For some reason I’ve never stopped at Smokey Bear Historical Park. I’ll have to correct that next time I’m down there.
Another interesting site, between Capitan and Lincoln, is Fort Stanton. And a little ways east of Capitan is Carrizozo and Valley Of Fires, an extensive lava field.
El Paso and Juarez are roughly in the neighborhood and worth a look.
You mention you may go as far afield as Tucson, Arizona. Since you’ll be hugging the border, New Mexico’s Pancho Villa State Park is nice. It also still has on display the first grease rack in America, used by General Pershing for his vehicles in his pursuit of Pancho Villa, an endeavor that was cut short when he was recalled to go fight WWI.
If you’re both heading west on I-10 and like collecting rocks, you could stop for a little while at Rockhound State Park west of Deming. The easy stuff has been picked over the years, but things still weather out of the Floridas. (There’s better stuff in the mountains north of Deming, but that takes something with reasonable clearance to drive the dirt roads.)
The fastest route from Carlsbad to I-10 is through the Guadalupe Mountains to El Paso. The only time I ever did it was in the dark, which I don’t recommend. Agreed that a stop there to see the park is probably worth it. The other option is to drive back north up US-285 to Artesia then west on US-83 onto US-70 towards Alamogordo and then across White Sands Missile Range and White Sands National Monument. If you kept going you could get to Roswell, which I wouldn’t recommend. That said, the drive on US-380 and 70 to Ruidoso can be pretty through the Sacramento Mountains. Either way, stop at Alamogordo for a break and gas, because except for the monument there is nowhere stop crossing the missile range. It’s possibly the road will be closed for a while anyway due to testing. There’s a decent space museum in Alamogordo as well if you’re into manned space travel.
If you’ve gone all the way to Las Cruces, a stop on the plaza in Mesilla can be nice. There’s a couple good restaurants, plenty of shopping, and some history related to both the Butterfield Stagecoach and Billy the Kid.
The hike to the summit is tough - about 3000’ altitude gain - but I thought it was well worth the time and effort. Carry and consume plenty of water.
Definitely agree on the water. End of May through June is the hottest part of the year in basically all of the Southwest until the monsoon pattern kicks in sometime in July. When I lived in Las Cruces it could be above 100 for days on end and sometimes broke 110 for multiple days. I was in Carlsbad once when it was something like 117 for the high. Altitude helps, but it’s still going to be hot and water sources are minimal or none. It’s dry, sweating will be effective, and you might not realize you’re dehydrated until it’s dangerous and you’re approaching heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Bring plenty for yourself, and a couple extra gallons for the car as well just in case.
If you’re in the mountains, keep an eye on the weather. Just because it’s not monsoon season doesn’t mean the weather in the mountains can’t change without warning. People do get themselves killed that way.
Bad speed trap at a town called Salt Flats or something like that coming back. The fake cop even pulled over a bus full of nuns.
I also would not recommend a dark ride in order to not miss the mountains, but on the plus side, these days you can probably see the lights from the gas rigs over the plains which is slightly interesting. On the down side, the road is more well-traveled than it was a decade or so ago, so when you camp in the park you can hear the big rigs blow by several times an hour during the night, whereas before that it was the quietest place I’ve habitually been to. So another reason you can hear the trucks is that the park is so silent otherwise.
If you are morning people, the bats of course come back in the morning. It is just as impressive. But realllllllly early.
If you are into kitsch, Roswell is up the road. They lean heavily into the alien thing. It is a drive though. Also there will be signs not to pick up hitchhikers. That is because of a prison not escaped aliens.
You might also check out the festival dates for the pueblos and visit those. Visitors are welcome and it is a good time.