Day 1: Getting to Carlsbad, New Mexico
The main attractions for this trip were White Sands National Park and Carlsbad Caverns National Park, which are both in New Mexico. The closest airport is El Paso, Texas, and our flight arrived there around 1 pm. We decided to stay in 2 different places because there is a 3+ hour drive between the national parks. After getting our rental car, we drove 2.5 hours to Carlsbad, grabbed groceries, and got settled into our rental house.
Day 2: Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Carlsbad Caverns National Park requires timed entry reservations. They can be purchased here on recreation.gov and only cost $1 per person. Morning slots tend to go quicker and they do sell out, especially in high season, so it’s best to get them in advance. You can enter at your reservation time plus the next hour. Ours was for 9:30 am, so we could start any time between 9:30 and 10:30. Once you’re in, you can stay as long as the cave is open. If you have flexibility and there is availability, might be a good idea to book when the weather isn’t looking too great since the cave temperature is always in the high 50s and rain or high temperatures won’t have much of an impact on your visit.
A few tips:
- I recommend taking the trail down and elevator back up. The natural entrance is so cool.
- The trail descends 750 feet in 1.25 miles and takes over an hour unless you’re zipping through. Definitely worth it though, as you get to see and feel just how far down it is.
- There are restrooms and food available after the 1.25 mile walk or elevator ride down to the main area. Then there is a 1.25 mile loop trail.
- The two trails we took were entirely paved. However, there are guardrails for safety and to keep people on the trail because it is dark, uneven, and wet in places.
- They have additional ranger-led tours to other areas that you can do, but they were not available to reserve online when we were there. We learned the tours were only being offered day-of when staffing was available.
- Even if you have a reservation, you’ll still need a pass to get into the national park. Since you can easily visit 3 national parks in this area, an annual or lifetime pass makes sense.
- Make sure you factor in the drive time from wherever you’re staying. There is very limited lodging immediately near the park. We stayed in south Carlsbad (closer to the park) and it was still a 30-minute drive to the visitor center.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park was awesome. The scale of the place is incredible and we all loved it. We spent about 3 hours total. The walk down and main trail were plenty sufficient for us without doing any of the extra tours. Ate our packed lunch at the visitor center, finished the Junior Ranger books and got the badges, then drove 40 minutes southwest (further away from Carlsbad city) to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. We passed it on the previous day but only admired it from the car. You can see it rising prominently from many miles away.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park is in Texas. It’s not that popular but is a very neat and convenient add-on since it’s so close to Carlsbad Caverns. Guadalupe Peak is the highest point in Texas and an 8-mile roundtrip (RT) with 3,000 feet of elevation gain hike will put you on the summit. I would have liked to have done that one, but we only had a few hours and did Devil’s Hall instead. It’s just over 4 miles RT with about 550 feet of elevation gain. The trail stats are relatively easy, but it’s considered moderate or strenuous because much of it is on a dry riverbed with lots of uneven rocks and boulders.
There are some great views during the first 90% of the way, but the coolest feature is a natural “staircase” close to Devil’s Hall. Shortly after that is Devil’s Hall, which is just ok in my opinion.
We saw a bat and an owl on this hike, which were bonuses. Overall a neat trail with unique features and good mountain views. An hour drive back to the house to make dinner and call it a night.
Day 3: Carlsbad to Las Cruces
We picked up Junior Ranger books the day prior so the kids would have time to do them in the car and at the house. Stopped by the visitor center as a way to break up the drive and get the badges, then continued back through El Paso. Made a quick stop at Casa de Azucar, which is a residential house where the owner made and painted tons of concrete carvings around his property.
Las Cruces, New Mexico is just under an hour north of El Paso. The Organ Mountains are nearby and it’s a great base for White Sands National Park (50-minute drive). After getting settled in our rental and going for a quick swim, we drove about 25 minutes north of town to what is vaguely and aptly named “Slot Canyon.” There is no sign or any indication of the trailhead, other than it being marked on Google Maps and this distinguishable gate you have to go over at the start (it is legal).
This was maybe my favorite thing we did the whole trip. Reminiscent of Antelope Canyon but not quite as dramatic. However, it is free, wasn’t crowded (saw less than 10 other people the whole time), and you can spend as much or as little time as you want there. It’s a very easy walk to the beginning of the canyon. There is what appears to be a legit trail in some spots, but knowing the general direction will suffice even if you don’t pick up a real trail.
After going over the cattle gate, turn left. You’ll probably see lots of “paths,” but again just keep walking with the fence to your left and the large rock outcropping to your right. You’ll run into a dry riverbed and that’s where you turn right.
Follow it for a few minutes and you’ll see the start of the canyon. The entire way from the trailhead to the end of the canyon and back is less than 2.5 miles. You can explore beyond the end but we did not. Fantastic way to spend 1-2 hours.
Had dinner at DH Lescombes Winery – some things great, others not so much.
Day 4: Dripping Springs Natural Area and White Sands National Park
We drove 30 minutes to the Dripping Springs Natural Area, which has a visitor center right at the foot of the Organ Mountains. The views leading to the parking area are phenomenal.
We did the 3-mile RT, 500 feet of elevation gain hike. It’s an easy stroll that puts you right in the middle of some legit, awesome mountains. At the end is Dripping Springs, which was nonexistent when we were there, but I don’t even think it’d add much if there was water flow. The views along the way are fantastic and there are ruins of an old camp from the early 1900s. Very interesting history with some placards near the different buildings explaining what the area once was.
Spent a couple hours total there then had a great lunch at A Bite of Belgium. Back to the house to relax for a bit. Unfortunately, the weather turned, well, terrible, so we didn’t get to enjoy the pool or outside area at all. Temperatures had dropped and there was a high wind advisory causing dust to completely obscure any visibility.
I really wanted to be at White Sands National Park for a sunset, as it sounds like the best time for colors. We knew there wasn’t going to be one and debated not going at all, but figured we’d be doing nothing else besides sitting inside the house so we made the 50-minute drive.
The park Rangers said to come back tomorrow morning because, “there’s no way it could be worse than it is now.” What luck! There’s one 8-mile road through the park and it loops around at the very end. There are many stops and trails along the road, but we headed straight to the end where the Alkali Flats trail starts. This is where the tallest and more dramatic dunes are. It was very windy and we didn’t venture too far, but it gave us a small taste of what the park could be.
Note for the park: it’s important to always keep sight of a post or nearby landmark because people have gotten lost. I can definitely see how easy it would be to get disoriented, especially if the weather and visibility aren’t great.
Back to the house for dinner.
Day 5: White Sands National Park
The morning was still hazy but much better overall. The Alkali Flats trail is a 5-mile loop that has posts to guide you, but we headed out in a clockwise direction and explored only the first half mile or so without doing the whole loop.
We all had an absolute blast! Hard to think of a time when our kids had so much fun playing with each other, for so long. We spent a few hours aimlessly wandering around and sledding down the dunes. There was so much space that it was no problem to find our own spots with almost no one else in sight. We called it a day when the wind started picking up and pelting us with sand. Ate our packed lunch at the visitor center, got the third Junior Ranger badges of the trip, and drove back to Las Cruces.
Stopped at the Space Murals and Museum Gift Shop, which was right on the way. They have tons of artifacts from the space program, including things that were on the moon. You probably only need 20-30 minutes here but could spend hours depending on your interest level. Entry is free.
Packed up and headed out for last meal at Salud! de Mesilla. Similar to the winery, some things were excellent and some weren’t. Flew home the next morning.
Final thoughts
This was an area we’d been wanting to visit for a few years. Our kids were 9 and it felt like the perfect destination for that age. Probably great for even younger kids, too. None of the hikes and activities were very aggressive and they were all so varied. White Sands National Park and Carlsbad Caverns National Park are very unique, and Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Dripping Springs Natural Area are more “traditional” mountain areas. Then there’s the slot canyon, too.
Lodging options were pretty plentiful and cheap, as were the few restaurants we ate at.
With more time, could add on Big Bend National Park, but that’s almost a 5-hour drive further south.
Traveled in April 2025
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