Activities Near Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

Don’t plan to spend your entire visit to Carlsbad underground. In the splendor of New Mexico’s sunshine, the town of Carlsbad has plenty of activities to keep you busy.

Carlsbad is nestled on the banks of the Pecos River in the Ocotillo Hills, the beginnings of the Guadalupe Mountains. Carlsbad was founded in 1888 as the community of Eddy, named for Charles Bishop Eddy. Later, city residents voted to call their town Carlsbad after a famous health resort, Karlsbad, in a part of Europe that is now Czechoslovakia. Carlsbad and Karlsbad had identical mineral waters valued for their health properties.

In the early days, Carlsbad was a ranching center, partly because of its abundant water. Today those waters make Carlsbad distinct from many other desert communities. The Pecos River slices right through the center of town, endowing the community with beautiful picnic grounds and top-notch fishing spots.

One of the best ways to enjoy the Pecos is a stroll along the downtown Riverwalk, just off US 180. This Riverwalk has four and a half miles of paths spanning both sides of the river. Plenty of shady picnic spots will give you a chance to stop and enjoy the scenic beauty of this downtown park.

The waters of the Pecos are filled with swimmers and skiers in the summer months, but year around you’ll find children feeding the ducks and fishermen hoping for a lucky catch.

If you’re looking for catfish, then you’ve come to the right place. Channel cat populate the Pecos, especially the stretch just south of the city. Other top fishing spots are Lake Carlsbad and Lake Avalon, stocked with trout, perch, bass, catfish, walleye, and bluegill.

You’ll find wildlife of a different sort at the Living Desert Zoo State Park. This park offers visitors a look at the plants and animals of the Chihuahuan Desert in their natural surroundings. Set high above the town of Carlsbad, the park is home to 60 species of birds, mammals, and reptiles as well as 1,000 plants from the Chihuahuan Desert and an equal number of exotic cacti from deserts around the world

In the aviary, birds of prey such as the Mexican eagle keep a sharp eye on their visitors. Many of the birds housed in the aviary, as well as animals in other displays, have been injured and cannot survive in the wild.

Bobcats and mountain lions, the largest felines in North America, are housed nearby in exhibit areas strewn with automobile-sized boulders. Here they rest above the visitors, keeping an eye on the activity at the park. Nearby, hoofed animals are contained in large fields to give them room to roam. Many of these creatures stay close to the trail, however, so have your camera ready for a close-up shot of a pronghorn antelope, buffalo, mule deer, or elk.

Wildlife still abounds in the Lincoln National Forest in Alamogordo, a 285,000-acre refuge 50 miles northwest of Carlsbad. This forest is located in the Guadalupe Mountains, where some areas are as wild as the days when the first settlers came to this rugged land.

The most popular spot in the park is Sitting Bull Falls. A day use area, the falls include picnic tables and restrooms. Enjoy a picnic and a swim on warm days, or just sun yourself on the limestone ledges.

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