Old Guano Road

Diana Northup on the trail and the Guadalupe Mountains in the background

This hike goes from White's City to the visitor's center at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. When you hike this trail, you can see much of the native plants (blooming if you hike it in the spring and the rains have been favorable). You also get good views of the gypsum plains below and the Guadalupe Mountains stretching off into Texas.

Hike data

Waypoints

Maps

Getting to the trailhead

About the hike

Plants along the trail

Comments

Hike data:

Controlling agency:

National Park Service; Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Region:

Southeast; Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

Elevation:

start:	3648ft; 1112m	end:	4399ft; 1341m
min:	3648ft; 1112m	max:	4399ft; 1341m

elevation gain/loss: 754ft; 230m.

Length:

3.60mi; 5.80km. One-way distance; if you do not set up a shuttle, you will need to double the distance.

Trail:

surface: mixed dirt/rock

condition: Excellent.

ease of following: Easy.

obstacles: None.
We have never seen anybody else on this trail. Most everybody visits the caverns and forgets that the surface exists and is worth seeing also.

Fee:

$0.00.

Season:

All year. Summer will be hot. Start early, and be sure you have sufficient water and sunscreen.

Dogs:

Unknown.

Bikes:

Unknown.

Handicapped accessible:

No.

Trailhead facilities:

flush toilet(s), picnic area. Picnicing at White's City is not available unless you have paid for the campground. Picnic tables exist on the west side of the park visitor's center. trash can(s), water.

Hike attractions:

exercise, history, scenery, wildflowers, wildlife.

When we hiked it:

Date:	2001-11-22
Time it took us:	2:00.
Usage (people/hour):	0.00. We have never seen anybody else on this trail.
Cleanliness:	10.

Waypoints:

Waypoint	Type	Description
GTTH	Trailhead	Old Guano Road lower trailhead

Maps:

Paper maps:

Map name	Cartographer	Year	Scale	Topo map?	Online access	Notes
Carlsbad Caverns National Park	National Geographic Trails Illustrated	2001	1:34500	Y	from Amazon (purchase)	Includes a map of Carlsbad Cavern on the back.
Lincoln National Forest, Guadalupe Ranger District	US Forest Service	2003	1:126720	N	from Amazon (purchase)
Wildernesses of New Mexico	US Forest Service	1981	1:1000000	N	No online copies.	Base map with national forests, wilderness areas and highways.

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Getting to the trailhead:

From Carlsbad, take US 62/180 south towards Carlsbad Caverns National Park. When you turn off of the highway at White's City, find a parking place. The trailhead is in the campground, at the west end. Note that there are two parts to the campground. You want the part furtherest from the road.
	For the upper trailhead, continue past White's City and up to the park visitor center. Go as if you were going to enter the cave through the natural entrance, but stay right at the ampitheater and walk past the gate shown here; just to the right of the vehicle gate is hiker access (between the two vertical poles).

About the hike:

	The trailhead looks like a jeep road. This appearance is not surprising since at one time, it was a road. In the photo, you can see the shelter and picnic table of one of the campsites just to the left of the trailhead. Almost immediately after heading up the trail, you reach the park boundary (GTBDY).
At times, the trail is marked by cairns. The trail is easy to follow, even when there are no cairns. At other times, fiberglass trail markers indicate the trail. Not surprisingly, the trail is rocky at times.
	In spite of the arid heat, some moss manages to grow between some rocks.
The cholla have bright yellow fruit.
	This cactus has large, showy flowers.
The Shaggy Narrowman (Stenandrium barbatum) is a showy spring flower.
	Desert plantain (Plantago helleri) also bloom in the spring.
The catsclaw is aptly named. Pretty, but it has thorns that grab at you as you walk by.
	You know you are getting close to the visitor's center when you reach a Y in the road (GTY1). Go right. A short distance after the Y, you come across the second natural entrance to Carlsbad Cavern (CAENT2). A short distance further (GTYNT) and the nature trail joins the trail you are on.
When you reach the natural entrance to Carlsbad Cavern on your right, you are done.

Plants we saw along the trail:

Lechuguilla or Shindagger (Agavaceae Agave lechuguilla)
Yucca (Agavaceae Yucca)
Littleleaf sumac (Anacardiaceae Rhus microphylla)
Tree cholla (Cactaceae Cylindropuntia imbricata)
Strawberry hedgehog or straw-pile cactus (Cactaceae Echinocereus stramineus)
Cactus apple or Engleman's pricklypear (Cactaceae Opuntia engelmannii)
Rough jointfir (Ephedraceae Ephedra aspera)
Catclaw acacia (Fabaceae Acacia greggi)
Mesquite (Fabaceae Prosopis)
Ocotillo (Fouquieriaceae Fouquieria)
Green sotol (Liliaceae Dasylirion leiophyllum)
Creosote bush (Zygophyllaceae Larrea tridentata)

Reader comments about this hike:

On Thu Oct 17 17:08:37 2019 S Sanborn from Carlsbad, NM said:
Great site, I am now going to hike this trail. Thanks again!

Add your comments about the Old Guano Road hike.

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