White Sands, Cloudcroft and Carlsbad Caverns

3 days, starting from and finishing in El Paso, TX (ELP)

If you have 3 days, a little trip (a 90min flight from Houston or Dallas) to El Paso is a great option to get a feeling of the southwestern desert, visit 2 national monuments separated by a 9,000 ft (3000 meters) high mountain resort.

Fly to El Paso, TX in the morning and rent a car.

El Paso, TX

No need to dwell here, head straight west on I-10 towards New Mexico and make a lunch stop at Mesilla, NM (less than an hour drive).

Don’t miss on the way, on the left hand side of the 10-miles stretch of I-10 between exit 151 (Mesquite) and 162 (Anthony/Chaparral), a glimpse at the cattle industry of Southern New Mexico…a slight contrast to the alpine farmers….

Mesilla, NM

Mesilla is a charming little historic village, the unlikely seat of a Roman Catholic basilica (Basilica of San Albino) and its Mesilla plaza is a National Historic Landmark.

After a look at the basilica and the neighboring streets, we had lunch on the patio of Josefina’s old gate and were back on the road.

Take I-10 back a few miles and go north on I-25 to catch US 70 road to Alamogordo. The road between Las Cruces and Alamogordo is an awesome one and from very early on, once you pass the San Augustin Pass between the Organ mountains on your right (South) and the San Augustin mountains on your left (North), you start the slow but constant descent into the valley of the Tularosa Basin with the glaring white of the White Sands appearing bigger as you drive. This is also the home of the White Sands Missile range, which does close the road sometimes for tests, so you might want to check its status the day before heading there by calling the Missile Range.

White Sands National Monument

The White Sands National Monument is a must-see. It is difficult to describe and no photo or video can do it justice. Plan at least 2 hours for the driving tour and climbing some dunes. Some ranger-led activities are also worth a wait, especially the one at sunset, which describe the living nature within these dunes.

Alamogordo, NM

Leaving White Sands, drive 16 miles east on US70 towards Alamogordo where you will also find the New Mexico Space History Museum, worth an hour visit if you have time (and the only reason Alamogordo did not get zero star).

In Alamogordo, take the US 82 east towards Cloudcroft. The 16 miles road climbs 4300 ft (1300 meters) in about 20 minutes to Cloudcroft sitting high at 8,668 ft (2,642 m) in the Sacramento Mountains and provides a complete change of scenery, from the arid Chihuahuan desert to a mountain resort. Breathtaking.

Cloudcroft, NM

The village itself of Cloudcroft is not memorable, but it is a great stop between White Sands and the rest of the trip. In summer, it offers a wonderful respite of the heat you experienced in the valley below.

You can spend the night at the historic Cloudcroft Lodge chasing the ghosts of a few celebrities and enjoy an excellent fine dining experience (rare in the region….) in their restaurant. Highly recommended.

After a good night sleep, head out early east on US 82 towards Artesia, 90 miles away. You are leaving the mountains for the desert again and will reach Artesia after passing through a few abandoned settlements on the way. Artesia is not a culinary hotspot, but nor is our destination, Carlsbad, so an early lunch there before continuing your journey might not be a bad idea. The town itself has some nice buildings and if you want to see what it looks like to have an oil refinery in the middle of your town, heads East on Main Street until you pass 1st Street.

Artesia, NM

Artesia is not a culinary hotspot, but nor is our destination, Carlsbad, so an early lunch there before continuing your journey might not be a bad idea. The town itself has some nice buildings and if you want to see what it looks like to have an oil refinery in the middle of your town, heads East on Main Street until you pass 1st Street.

Head south to reach Carlsbad in 35 miles.

Carlsbad, NM

Try to arrive in Carlsbad early enough to visit first the Living Desert zoo and gardens (it is a state park and the only reason I give 3 stars to Carlsbad, otherwise it would land a zero), very interesting, about 1h30 to visit, and then head south to the Carlsbad Caverns National Monument (27 miles south of town). Watch the time and check-in at your hotel on the way back to ensure you do not miss the last entry to the caves.

I cannot recommend any hotel nor restaurant in Carlsbad, as it is a culinary void. Last time I came here was before the new Hampton Inn, Fairfield Inn and other chain budget outposts were built, so we had to stay at the outdated Stevens Inn, but I think you will have more choice now. The restaurant of the Stevens Inn was the best “choice” we had. There is no hotel at the Caverns, so you need to drive back to Carlsbad, 27 miles north.

Carlsbad Caverns National Monument

You need to be there imperatively before 3.30pm in the summer (2pm in winter) so that you can walk down to the cave via the natural entrance, which is far better than the elevator that you will take to exit the cave anyway. The caves are superb, majestuous, impressive, all of this, all at once.

A nice addition to the visit of the caves themselves is the Walnut Canyon Desert drive (used to be named Rattlesnake canyon drive) and you will have maybe the chance to spot a hissing rattlesnake from the safety of your car window. It takes about an hour.

Also, at sunset in summer, attend the ranger-led talk and witness the thousands of bats leaving the caves from the Bat Flight Amphitheater.

Head back to Carlsbad for the night.

The following day, head south on US 62, stop at the Guadalupe Mountain National Park, the least visited of the National Parks, and continue towards El Paso. The road is another breathtaking one, passing bluffs, salt flats, mountain sides and flat deserts. The road is 163 miles from Carlsbad to El Paso and take about 3h without stop.

An important note for foreigners: because you are less than 100 miles from the border with Mexico, you need to have your passport with you. There are controls done by the immigration services on some roads (I experienced one, had no passport, and had to thank the willingness and trust of the patrol officer to let me go instead of waiting until Monday morning in the police station cell until a judge could let me go as he had no way to check whether I was legally on US soil)

En route