Carlsbad Caverns vs. Mammoth Cave: Which is Better?
When comparing Carlsbad Caverns to Mammoth Cave, it can be difficult to determine which of these national parks is better.
While both have incredible caves at the heart of the parks, each one has its own specific reasons why you should visit.
My family and I have explored both, so I’m breaking down everything you need to know about each park below, including highlights of what to see and do, which tours to take, and more.
With Mammoth Cave National Park located in Cave City, Kentucky, and Carlsbad Caverns National Park located in Carlsbad, New Mexico, you’ve got options on both sides of the United States!
Let’s dive into what these cave-based parks have in common, and what makes each of them stand out.
Highlights in Carlsbad Caverns National Park
The kids and I at the Carlsbad Caverns entrance sign
Located in southeastern New Mexico—just a few miles from the Texas border—Carlsbad Caverns offers up incredible hiking above ground in the Chihuahuan Desert and miles of pathways 600 feet below the ground.
While your Carlsbad Caverns itinerary needs a full 2 days to truly appreciate the entire national park, the heart of this property is in its intricate caverns.
NOTE: You will need a reservation to enter the caverns, a process that comes with a $1 fee per person. This fee is in addition to your entrance fee and any tours you choose to go on.
Desert Beauty in an Ancient Seabed
It’s hard to believe now, but this area of New Mexico was once covered in water.
Back when the continents were squished together in Pangea, that sea was somewhere near the equator.
The salty, warm sea ultimately created a massive reef, which eventually fossilized, leaving behind the incredible formations that we can now tour inside Carlsbad Caverns.
The beautiful interior of Carlsbad Caverns
While the cave was officially discovered by Jim White in the late 1890s, this expanse of desert had been occupied for more than 14,000 years by local Native American tribes, meaning that the park has a rich history.
White, who was a teenager at the time of his discovery, was a pioneer in New Mexico caving, and is largely responsible for bringing tourism to this cave.
Even today, that spirit of exploration continues for visitors who choose to walk the same route as White’s first journey into the cave.
That walk into the Natural Entrance of the cave provides some scale as to the vastness of this place, and it is an excellent way to start your visit to the caverns.
Exploring the Park
Carlsbad Caverns has plenty to do above and below ground, so plan to spend 1-2 full days here.
Look how small the Camping Kiddos look compared to the Natural Entrance!
If you’re just interested in the caves, you should do the self-guided tour of the Big Room and the Natural Entrance.
These tours provide a great overview of the layout of the caverns and allow you to see the gorgeous and intricate cave formations here.
I’d also highly recommend the Carlsbad Caverns King’s Palace Tour, which (at the time of this writing) was the only ranger-led tour available at the national park.
This 1.5 hour tour gives you access to areas off-limits to the self-guided tour folks, and you’ll have an experienced and knowledgeable ranger to share fascinating details about the cave’s history, biology, geology and more.
There are several excellent surface hikes, the Bat Flight program, and the Junior Ranger program.
The closest town is Carlsbad, New Mexico, which offers up a variety of restaurants, shops, and big box stores.
If you have another day or two, Guadalupe Mountains National Park is just across the Texas-New Mexico border!
Carlsbad Caverns National Park with Kids
While both Carlsbad Caverns and Mammoth Cave are both fascinating for kids, we found that Carlsbad Caverns had a bit more of a wow factor to it.
The Camping Kiddos on one of the many miles of path along the self-guided tour
This is largely because of the sheer number of stalactites and stalagmites that decorate every inch of this cave.
The Big Room in particular is stunning in its vastness and rock formations: this room alone has a 1.5 mile loop trail, where you’ll see cave pools, rock formations, draperies, and more.
Yet, this cave is incredibly accessible, meaning that families with small children and those with disabilities can still explore fully.
The entire self-guided tour has a wide, paved path with clearly marked handrails and signage.
I found this tour to be one of the most accessible in all of the national parks that we’ve toured so far.
To get to the Big Room, you have 2 choices:
You can choose to go down elevators through several hundred feet of bedrock, which is an adventure of its own for younger kids, or
You can walk the 1.25 miles down through the Natural Entrance. For older kids who don’t mind the extra walking, this is the way to go thanks to the awe-inspiring (and huge!) entrance into the side of the cliff face.
Other kid-friendly things to do here include the excellent ranger program, the interactive visitors center exhibits, and the short surface walks.
Best of all, we found many other things to do in and near Carlsbad, New Mexico, for my family when we were outside of the park.
One of our favorites was exploring Lake Brantley State Park, which has one of the best campgrounds in New Mexico!
Highlights in Mammoth Cave National Park
The Camping Kiddos at the Mammoth Cave visitors center
Over on the other side of the United States is Mammoth Cave National Park, which is hidden away in pine-covered hills just off of I-65.
Located about halfway between Louisville, Kentucky, and Nashville, Tennessee, this beautiful national park is a great road trip stop or a long weekend destination from either city.
Mammoth Cave National Park is such an important site that it was named an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, providing further protections for this national park.
Much like Carlsbad Caverns, you’ll need 2 days to full appreciate this area, but Mammoth Cave can be done in 1 day if you’re in a rush.
NOTE: You do NOT need a reservation time for this national park at the time of this writing. You will need to pay the entrance fee and for any tours you plan to go on.
You’ll need to book those tours ahead of time to ensure that you get the time, date, and tour that’s best for your family.
History in the Rolling Hills of Kentucky
PIN ME!
Unlike Carlsbad Caverns which was never used directly for human habitation, Mammoth Cave National Park has been in use by humans since at least 5,000 BCE.
During that time, native tribes used it for shelter, for mining, and for food preservation.
When the first Europeans made contact with the cave, they continued to explore the massive underground caverns and to seek out new ways to use the resources they found within.
Today, visitors can walk in the footsteps of all of these explorers on the self-guided tour or one of the many ranger-led tours.
Exploring the Park
While this cave doesn’t have the massive entrance that Carlsbad Caverns has, the descent down into the dark cave mouth is still fascinating.
All of the tours begin here and require visitors to walk down several sets of steep stone stairs.
Heading down to the entrance of Mammoth Cave
Unlike Carlsbad Caverns, Mammoth Cave has many areas that aren’t great for very young children or those with mobility issues.
The stairs at the entrance and exit points are both steep (and numerous!), and several passages, including the Fat Man’s Misery, are impassable for those who can’t manuever their way through tight passages.
Visiting during the spring and fall are the best times as the crowds are lighter and the weather is perfect for those surface hikes.
October visits also have the added bonus of gorgeous fall foliage through this area of Kentucky.
The closest town to Mammoth Cave National Park is Cave City, Kentucky. While it is small, it offers up several chain hotels, a few restaurants, and the historic Wigwam Village motel, which is our choice for where to stay.
Kids will also enjoy the nearby Dinosaur World, which is kitschy in the best way.
Mammoth Cave National Park with Kids
The Camping Kiddos in the Rotunda Room at Mammoth Cave National Park
Instead of—or in addition to—the self-guided tour, you’re going to want to take a ranger-led tour while at Mammoth Cave.
We love doing these walks with the rangers at national parks because the experience provides so much history, science, and culture that just isn’t possible with a brochure and signage.
The best Mammoth Cave tour for kids is the Historic Tour, which my family and I loved.
On this tour, your ranger guide will show you many fascinating features of the cave, including the Bottomless Pit, the old saltpeter mining equipment, the treacherous path taken by the earliest European explorers, and Fat Man’s Misery.
The 2 hour tour allows families to go in depth within the cave’s history without letting kids get too fidgety.
Elsewhere in the park, kids should complete the free Junior Ranger program to earn a badge—a favorite of the Camping Kiddos!
We also enjoyed the beautifully done interpretive exhibits in the visitors center, which is well worth a half an hour or so.
If the weather is nice, head out onto one of the many surface trails that crisscross the park to get a feel for what this area is like above and below ground.
Final Thoughts: Carlsbad Caverns vs. Mammoth Cave
Since both national parks are incredible, much of your decision will come down to your choice of location. Would you rather explore an otherworldly, remote desert location or a more conveniently located forested location?
Of the two cave systems, Carlsbad Caverns is the more visually stunning, thanks to the vast number of intricate rock formations.
Carlsbad Caverns also wins for the best cave entrance, thanks to the massive Natural Entrance.
Plus, Carlsbad Caverns has the Bat Flight program, which is unique. While Mammoth Cave has more than a dozen types of bats that live there, you’ll only find the nightly bat flight at Carlsbad Caverns during the late spring and summer.
Mammoth Cave, however, truly lives up to its name, particularly in areas like the Rotunda Room, which could easily fit several houses inside of it with room to spare.
Mammoth Cave has fewer stalactites and stalagmites than Carlsbad Caverns, but the rock features—and the sheer vastness of the caves—more than makes up for that lack of decoration.
Mammoth Cave also has a longer human history timeline, which could be a consideration for those more interested in the historical over the geological.
I appreciated that Mammoth Cave had more ranger-led tours available, but I’m also hoping that Carlsbad Caverns will reinstate more of their programs in the coming years.
We loved the difference experience we had at both of these incredible national parks, and I hope that you’ll be able to visit one—or both—of these with your family soon!
