Carlsbad Cavern Natural Entrance

The Natural Entrance is the opening into Carlsbad Cavern at Carlsbad Cavern National Park in southern New Mexico. It was used exclusively until elevators were added in the 1930s. Located about a five-minute walk from the visitor center, it begins the steep Natural Entrance Trail, a descent that leads into the vast chambers of the cavern system. The opening has long been a focal point for human stories, scientific study, and the nightly emergence of hundreds of thousands of Brazilian free-tailed bats. - AsNotedIn

Apache Legend

A traditional story preserved among the Modern Apaches tells of a medicine man who entered the cavern to make big medicine. He was last seen walking away from the entrance, beating his tom-tom. Each year, on the anniversary of his disappearance, Apache families returned to the mouth of the cave to leave food offerings for him. - AsNotedIn

Bat Flight Amphitheater

The Bat Flight Amphitheater, carved into the limestone slope overlooking the Natural Entrance, provides seating for visitors who gather to watch the colony of Brazilian free-tailed bats spiral out of the cave at dusk. The amphitheater's position gives a clear view of the swirling ascent as the bats rise into the evening sky to begin their nightly hunt. - AsNotedIn

Bat Flight Program

The Bat Flight Program, offered April through October, is a free, no-reservation, ranger-led talk held in the amphitheater shortly before dusk, with start times shifting as sunset changes; seating is first-come, first-served, and the most dramatic flights typically occur in August and September when young bats join the adults, though nightly numbers can range from none to as many as half a million, highlighting the ecology, migration and remarkable behavior of the Carlsbad Cavern colony. - AsNotedIn