The Chihuahuan Desert Nature Trail is a half-mile loop starting at the Carlsbad Caverns Visitors Center.  It’s an interpretive trail that provides a great introduction to the desert flora and how native cultures used these plants in everyday life.

After spending the morning in the dark walking through the vast Carlsbad Caverns, we enjoyed a nice lunch aboveground in the bright sun.

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Most visitors to Carlsbad Caverns National Park head for the caves underground while completely ignoring the 800,000+ acres on the surface.

Rattlesnake Canyon is one of the most popular and scenic surface trails in Carlsbad Caverns.  Yet most hikers will have this trail all to themselves, as we did on this warm November morning.

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