Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Under $25Descend by trail or elevator into Carlsbad Cavern and walk the Big Room, then watch bats fly out at dusk in summer.

Photo: Daniel Mayer, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
Free evening ranger talk, then watch Brazilian free-tailed bats leave Carlsbad Cavern at dusk.
Carlsbad, NM
At the Natural Entrance to Carlsbad Cavern in New Mexico, visitors gather in an outdoor amphitheater for a ranger talk about bats before the evening flight. Each summer evening, Brazilian free-tailed bats leave the cave to hunt insects, and the bats fly overhead above the seating area. The program runs from April through October, and the start time shifts with sunset. Seating is first come, first served. Lightning can cancel the program. Electronic devices and cameras are not allowed, and pets are not permitted in the amphitheater area. The park also notes a pre-dawn return flight, when early risers can watch the bats re-enter the cave.
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Descend by trail or elevator into Carlsbad Cavern and walk the Big Room, then watch bats fly out at dusk in summer.
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