The Best Show Caves in North America

Self-guided routes

Several of the large caves in North America let visitors walk without a guide. At Luray Caverns the route is a paved path of about 1.5 miles, followed with a handout or QR code. At Carlsbad Caverns visitors walk down the steep Natural Entrance trail or take the elevator, and then go round the Big Room at their own pace. Grutas de Cacahuamilpa in Mexico combines both forms: a guide leads groups of up to 50 along 2 km of paved path, and everyone walks back alone, so a flashlight is useful for the return.

Fahrenheit and humidity

Cave temperatures in the United States are given in Fahrenheit. Many of the caves here sit in the fifties, about 11 to 14°C: Mammoth Cave at 52 to 54°F, Carlsbad Caverns at 54 to 56°F, Blanchard Springs Caverns around 58°F. Two caves are much warmer. Caverns of Sonora is warm and humid, and the 4 km round trip through Grutas de Cacahuamilpa is hot and humid as well.

Bats

Bats set the calendar at some caves. Carlsbad Caverns runs an evening bat flight programme. Kartchner Caverns at Benson closes its Big Room in summer for the bats. Blanchard Springs Caverns has bats and grotto salamanders along its trails, and Cathedral Caverns at Woodville has bats and fossils.

Río Secreto

Río Secreto, near Playa del Carmen in Mexico, is a semi-flooded river cave in the jungle. Small groups walk and float through it with a guide, in pools that are ankle deep in places and deep enough to swim in others. Wetsuit, helmet and water shoes are provided, phones and cameras stay outside, and the visit takes about an hour underground.