Carlsbad Caverns NM

I concur with what others have said regarding the area. I live nearby and raveled thru Carlsbad to El Paso at least 2x / month. The park at Whites City would likely be OK for a night. They do have a section for the long term folks that is separate from the short term portion. The other recommendation would be the KOA or Escapees park North of town.

Another option to consider would be the campground at Guadalupe Mtns. There are no hookups and it is limited both in size and number of spaces but would be a quiet option for one night. If you have never been there a stop at the visito center would be recommended since you may be driving right past there anyway. Another spot at the park I would recommend visiting is the Frijole Ranch house - it is an amazing display of how the early settlers lived in this area.

Last thing, the traffic I the area is really bad so be patient and watchful as you pass through. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Terry

Chosa Campground south, free camp area no facilities, day or two. Sun West or Buds, full hookups. Get reservations like it's been said the oil fields are booming. Scratch Whites as a dump unless you want very convenient because it's close to the Cavern entrance. If your have time stay for the night flight, educational talk by the rangers and amazing.

Thank you all so much for your input...Looks like White City is off the list :W We want to stay as close to the entrance as possible since I don't like to leave our Dog for more than a few hours. I'll check out the distance from the other suggestions and hopefully the KOA will work for us.

OldF**t wrote:

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.

KOA to Caverns is a 45 mile 1 hour drive. We stayed there and I didn't like the distance to the caverns. we would go in the morning to the caves and go back in the evening to see the bats. The first night the bats didn't come out, so we had to do it again the next day. It's a great RV park, but it's just too far away.

We took a tour and it was good. We usually do that in caves, the TG points out interesting features.

We stayed at Brantley Lake north of Carlsbad. It was a bit of a drive, but that was okay for us.