Not a huge place, but it's a clean facility with everything we needed to supplement the star attraction (the caves, of course), such as clean bathrooms, something to eat (nothing amazing), souvenirs and some interpretive displays.
this is my third visit in 2 years, so all I actually did was grab a snack, ride the elevator down, and walk out. the water was off because of a frozen pipeline, so things were limited, but functioning. when you come, besides the big room, try to work in one of the guided tours, you won't be disappointed.
I drove here with my middle school daughter. We hiked down through the natural entrance into the cave. Though it was below freezing on the surface, inside the cave it was about 56 degrees. We walked the entire pathway. The height of the cavern as well as the variety of formations was amazing. Thankfully, this was not one of those caves where they illuminate the cave in different colors; everything here was bathed in the same white spotlights. Be sure to rent a sound guide to help you understand what you are seeing.
The staff was very helpful in suggesting the must sees for a first time visitor. I actually cancelled one of the tours I had booked, on their recommendation, in order to see The Big Room.
The visitor's center is very nice. Clean, well maintained; friendly, helpful staff. There's a nice little book store and gift shop Beautiful views from the parking lot. The drive out from the main road is 7 miles and it's a beauty--right through the park.
I have been to the Caverns several times and always took the self guided tour. This time, I took a Ranger guided tour of the Kings Palace and was blown away. Cheap, informative, kid friendly. Ranger Phil provided fun, history and an overall great learning experience. He did not rush and allowed plenty of time for questions and photographs.
This large, impressive building got a complete face-lift a few years ago, and it's much improved in most places. The exhibits are really attractive. You can learn a lot about the cave, and see some amazing photos, but after our long walking tour underground, we were too tired to look at them! You may want to stifle your eagerness and see this stuff before you head to the cave. The rangers were all extremely friendly (this was in the off season). The gift shop was huge and reasonably priced, but the bookstore was extremely disappointing, with only a few selections. When we visited in 2002, it was much larger with a much greater variety of titles. The cafeteria offers horrible rubbery hot dogs and stuff like that, but hey, you're way way out in desert here, so you're crazy if you expect fine dining! The food will at least fill your stomach, and it didn't make us sick or anything, but you'd be better off bringing your own. Overall, the visitor center is modern and worth your time. I wish we hadn't been too tired for those displays. They were really beautiful as we passed by.
We visited during a month's stay in Las Cruces, NM and because of travel time we were not able to go through the natural entrance into the caverns (it would have added another hour to our day). We took the elevator from the very clean, attractive, and well staffed visitor's center. The only tour that afternoon was sold out so we did the self guide but it was just fine. Arriving in the Big Room is quite the thrill and walking the full extent is amazing. I marvel at this natural wonder's history and appreciate the efforts our National Park service put forth to maintain it's integrity.
I walked a great distance and enjoyed every minute of it. The cavern big room is beautiful and worth the price. Most caverns charge just as much for half of what is offered here. I will visit again when the bats are back from migration because it sounds like another great thing to experience at the cavern. Very much worth a visit!
Loved the new walkways and railings, the speleothems and the ease of walking. Areas are not handicapped accessible (wheelchairs). Take plenty of batteries for your camera!