Carlsbad KOA – Carlsbad, NM
I felt it was time to revisit this review and update our findings on the RV Park. We have now stayed twice at this location so this review will reflect both of those stays. The park is located approximately 25 miles north of downtown Carlsbad off route 285. This puts you about 50 mins or so northeast of the main attraction Carlsbad Caverns National Park. There are three other RV parks in the area that would put your closer to the National Park. After taking in several reviews of the park choices we felt this KOA would be our best option given the reviews of the other locations.
Our first visit took place in April of 2018 during a severe drought in the southwest. The park was and looked parched, to say the least. You were hard-pressed to find green space anywhere in the park. With a couple of exceptions, the dog run and a courtyard near the office being the only green grass on the property. The second was early October 2019. The park looked from a landscaping perspective to have gotten ample rain during the Southwest monsoon season. The property had greened up dramatically.
I have to point out the following about the staff. They are in our minds some of the best we have run into. Our spring visit was during the high winds, I’m talking about 40 – 50 miles an hour gusts. Given the winds, we needed to stay another day. The staff went out of there way to keep us in the same space. I can tell you that is a choir using the KOA system of reservations.
Link To RV Park: Carlsbad KOA
Link to MAP: Directions
Daily Cost: $49 – $63 (less KOA Discount)
As you roll through the gates of the park the road was in tough shape on both visits. There were several very large potholes that you will need to maneuver around as you pull up to the office area
A) Site Quality: ⛺️⛺️⛺️⛺️/5
On both occasions, we were assigned roll B for our sites. These both were pull-through sites, large and with plenty of room to set up and park the truck. We where lead to our perfectly raked site by a staff member and found the parking easy. During our fall visit, we did experience rough entry road conditions. The monsoon season takes its toll on dirt roads and left the entry way dotted with pot holes. The site roads where in good shape and wide.
Insights
- This park was awarded the KOA Founders Award and Presidents Award in 2019.
- The staff was friendly and accommodating and made you feel welcome on both occasions.
- Both visited landed us in front of the pool area. Our first visit B10 and second B8.
- B10 was a standard pull-through site with a full 50amp hookup. You will find a picnic table and a fire ring on the site. However, during our spring visit, you would not want to strike a match anywhere outside your rig due to the dry conditions.
- B8 was a patio site, full hook up, 50amp, equipped with an upscaled picnic table, firepit, paved patio, and swing.
- Like most KOA’s we have stayed at you will find several full time one location RVers. The bulk of these folks and RV’s are located in rows F-J.
B) Facilities: ⛺️⛺️⛺️.5/5
The facilities at this location are a bit sparse. They are for the most part centrally located toward the front of the RV park. There you will find the office and store, Gameroom, laundry, and bathhouse. There is one additional bathroom located in row F near the playground. As a bonus, they have BBQ dinners available delivered to your site, more on that in a bit. The park and facilities are well taken care of, clean and in good working order.
C) Amenities: ⛺️⛺️⛺️⛺️/5
There are 99 large pull-thru RV sites with full hook-ups and 50amp service. The site fee includes cable TV and free wi-fi. The wi-fi is good for checking your email or surfing the web. The laundry facilities were extra large and machines appeared to be in good working order. Costs for use were competitive with most RV parks. The main bathrooms and shower areas were very large and clean. As I mentioned our site was directly across from the pool. It was not large, had a bit of shade and was very clean and heated. You will be able to fill your propane on-site at reasonable pricing. Interested in sports, volleyball, basketball, and horseshoes are available. I did like the large porch with rocking chairs overlooking a courtyard of grass connected to the main building. The general store and gift shop had necessities to get you by until you could make it to town.
Now let’s talk about the BBQ Dinners. As a reminder, you are about 30 miles in either direction to town. If you are looking for something to fill the pie hole right away, I can recommend their delivery service BBQ, it arrives hot, moist and is very good. Available from 4:30 – 7:30. You must place your order with the front desk by 6 pm. Note, order early as they do run out of certain popular items and when they are gone they are gone for the day.
D) Location: ⛺️⛺️⛺️⛺️/5
In our minds, the one attraction that must be on your bucket list is Carlsbad Caverns National Park. This park is located about 50 miles from the Cavern. As I mentioned above there are several parks much closer to the caverns. I don’t think you will find better staffing, amenities, or campsites than you have at this KOA. Will we come back to this location if we are in the area again, absolutely.
The park is directly off 285 which will take you to either Carlsbad or Roswell. Shopping, restaurants, department stores and more are but 25 minutes away.
E) Paw – Friendliness – 🐾🐾🐾🐾/5
Zoey found the park to have the amenities to make her happy. They offered two side by side dog runs that had grass and shade. Bags and garbage can where located conveniently next to the runs. Next to the runs, you will find a large grass and gravel area to give your dog a stretch. We like to take walks in the morning and this park gives you plenty of options. Here is a note of caution. During the rainy season anywhere that has standing water or for that matter watered grass you will find mosquitos. The dog runs where such an area.
Wanderers Overall Rating: ⛺️⛺️⛺️⛺️/5
KOA Carlsbad
Carlsbad KOA
Our Welcome
Set Up Carlsbad
Carlsbad Pool
B11 & 12
Dryers KOA Carlsbad
Washers Carlsbad KOA
Wanderers Take
Carlsbad Caverns has been on our bucket list for years. The two trips we made to the park did not disappoint us in the least. The caverns are just fascinating and the bat flight should not be missed. I am certain that we will be back in this area again. We self toured the caverns on both occasions. They offer guided tours of the caverns that I believe we would find most interesting.
During our last trip in the fall, we had time to explore the town of Carlsbad. We uncovered a little gem of a restaurant that we will surely come back to again. With family in El Paso, our routing toward Amarillo or Santa Fe will take us right through this area of NM. Carlsbad KOA will be our RV Park of choice and it should be yours.
Sight Seeing, Attractions and Restaurants
Bat Flight Program (late May-October), Free evening ranger talk about bats prior to their flight. No reservations are required for this program that occurs every evening from Memorial Day weekend through October. The program takes place at the Bat Flight Amphitheater, located at the Natural Entrance to Carlsbad Cavern. The start time for the program changes as the summer progresses and sunset times change.
If you have not taken in this bucket list nightly event put it on your a todo calendar. This will more than likely mean you will be driving back to the Park in late spring or summer as the bats fly after dusk. We visited in early October just before the migration and the program started around 6 pm.
It did not disappoint, thousands of bats came swirling out of the cave mouth around 7:15 and continued for the next hour. We were sitting on the right-hand side of the cave entrance. The bats flew right over our heads and in front of us during their flight.
Carlsbad Cavern National Park – The rv park is located northeast of downtown Carlsbad and about 50 mins away from the caverns. We headed out in the morning only to find that the elevators at the caverns were out of service. This meant that we would need to walk down and back 800 ft. to get to the big rooms. The walk down was not that bad with plenty to see as we descended into the cave. Each switchback brought a new perspective of the decent and how far we were underground. The beauty of walking down thinner out the crowds that would have been there if the elevators were working. The cave in parts was so quiet you could hear yourselves breathing. The beauty was breathtaking and reminded me in many ways of walking into some of the historic Cathedrals we have visited. Photos of what we saw did not capture the grandeur or depth of field that existed. This is certainly a bucket list check off, it was spectacular.
The Yellow Brix restaurant located on the main drag in Carlsbad is a must stop while you are in town. This cozy little spot with a great patio has a world-class wine list, great food, and service. We stopped after a long day at the caverns and I might have had the best truffle fries and green chile burger I have ever eaten.
Previous Tips & Upgrades
Get A Grip
Ginny and I were not big fans of your factory entrance door handle. With our set up, the interior shade would partially block the interior grip. Additionally there was very little room to grab the handle to close the door.
