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Getting to Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Driving to Carlsbad Caverns

US-62/US-180 provides the sole road access to Carlsbad Caverns. The entrance road, Walnut Canyon Road, is 23 miles southwest of the town of Carlsbad, New Mexico, or 150 miles east of the city of El Paso, Texas.

If you’d like to plot directions from your location use the interactive map below. The marker shows the location of the visitor center in Carlsbad Caverns.

Flying to Carlsbad Caverns

Below you will find a list of airports most convenient for a trip to Carlsbad Caverns, listed in order of distance. For each airport we provide direct links to browse available flights and cars. For price searches, simply enter your origin and dates.

El Paso International Airport (ELP)

Located in El Paso, Texas, 139 miles by car to Carlsbad Caverns

El Paso flight schedule and price search

El Paso available rental cars and price search

Midland International Air & Space Port (MAF)

Located in Midland, Texas, 161 miles by car to Carlsbad Caverns

Midland flight schedule and price search

Midland available rental cars and price search

Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ)

Located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 305 miles by car to Carlsbad Caverns

Albuquerque flight schedule and price search

Albuquerque available rental cars and price search

Official Park Maps

Below are the official park maps provided by the National Park Service. You can view either the original PDF file or a simple JPEG image file (some of these files can be quite large). Note that while these maps are useful for general navigation around the park, if you plan to do any hiking, you should really have a proper Carlsbad Caverns Trail Map.