Carlsbad Caverns NM

The main campground is Whites and it looks rather shabby from the outside and I see it has poor reviews. We were never tempted to stay there. The town of Carlsbad is about half an hour away and has a few CG. We stayed at Bud's and it was OK for a short stay. Not much choice and none great.

The KOA north of town is probably the best campground but it is 30 to 45 minutes to the caverns depending on traffic thru town.

OldF**t wrote:
The KOA north of town is probably the best campground but it is 30 to 45 minutes to the caverns depending on traffic thru town.

Coming from that KOA there is a by-pass about 10 miles South of the park that takes you on the West edge of town missing all of that down town area

We stayed at the KOA and it is a long way from anything. It is 20 miles just to Carlsbad. Buds is your best bet if your going to stay a few days but I think I would stay at the one at the exit to the caverans if I was going to just stay one night it didnt look all that bad when we drove past it.

We also stayed at the KOA as it seemed the best in the area, though not the most convenient.

But a word of caution. The oil field boom is apparently making it difficult to find any opening at any RV park in that area. I would begin checking availability far in advance of planning to arrive there.

We did the tour on our own starting at the natural entrance. Plan on the elevator back to the top unless you are in good physical condition as the trip down from the natural entrance is long and steep. There are guided tours that take you to areas not available on your own, but we did not try any of those.

BB_TX wrote:
... But a word of caution. The oil field boom is apparently making it difficult to find any opening at any RV park in that area. I would begin checking availability far in advance of planning to arrive there.

X2^!! Except for the fact that we are Escapees and can stay at The Ranch north of Carlsbad, there have been several times there was absolutely no other availability.

Also check ahead of time if there's anyone in your party that can't handle the walk down into the caverns from the natural opening. The elevators are older than I am (and I've had Medicare for a while) and have been out of service on two separate occasions when we tried to visit. (If one of the two elevators is out, they take the other one out of service, too). This can happen on short notice, but it doesn't hurt to check.

Rob

+1 for the KOA. I was there several nights a few years ago to see the caverns.

Stayed at the KOA earlier this year and would recommend it. Is super nice, the showers are huge clean and hot, they have a BBQ smoker going all day and will deliver food to you via a golf cart and put it on your RV bill, two descent sized gated dog areas with toys, basically away from everything too so super quiet.

It is a ways from the Caverns but from what we saw of the other RV Parks after passing by them we made the right decision!

As mentioned above the Oil Industry is all over this area and when we left via the 285 it was a complete disaster. I can not believe that road did not damage my trailer. I've never driven on a road worse than that anywhere in the US. Also is single lane with 50,000 oil workers trying to get where they are going.

hotpepperkid wrote:

OldF**t wrote:
The KOA north of town is probably the best campground but it is 30 to 45 minutes to the caverns depending on traffic thru town.

Coming from that KOA there is a by-pass about 10 miles South of the park that takes you on the West edge of town missing all of that down town area

Yes. I forgot about that bypass. About a mile shorter and way less traffic and lights.

My experience is a few years old but I will share anyway.

I would not stay in White City if it is anything like what I saw on our last visit to Carlsbad.

We decided to stay in town. No, it's not a resort and pretty typical of older parks with permanent residents, but we found it so much more conveniently located than KOA. I would not hesitate to stay there again unless it has really declined.