Educational Offerings

Ranger Programs

Evening Bat Flight Program. In the amphitheater at the Natural Entrance (off a short trail from the main parking lot) a ranger discusses the park's batty residents before the creatures begin their sundown exodus. The bats aren't on any predictable schedule, so times are a little iffy. Ideally, viewers will first hear the bats preparing to exit, followed by a vortex of black specks swirling out of the cave mouth in search of dinner against the darkening sky. When conditions are favorable, hundreds of thousands of bats will soar off over the span of half an hour or longer. 727 Carlsbad Cavern Hwy., Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, 88220-5354. 575/236--1374; www.nps.gov/cave. Mid-May–mid-Oct., nightly at sundown.