Overview

In 1898, a teenager named Jim White explored the cavern with a homemade wire ladder. He named many of the rooms, including the Big Room, New Mexico Room, Kings Palace, Queens Chamber, Papoose Room, and Green Lake Room. He also named many of the cave’s more prominent formations, such as the Totem Pole, Witch’s Finger, Giant Dome, Bottomless Pit, Fairyland, Iceberg Rock, Temple of the Sun, and Rock of Ages. Max Frisch incorporates the story about White’s discovery of the caves in his novel I’m Not Stiller. The town of Carlsbad, which lends its name to the cavern and national park, is in turn named after the Czech town formerly known by the German name Karlsbad (English spelling Carlsbad) and now known by the Czech name Karlovy Vary, both of which mean “Charles’ Bath[s].” Until 1932, visitors to the cavern had to walk down a switchback ramp that took them 750 feet (230 m) below the surface. The walk back up was tiring for some. In 1932 the national park opened up a large visitor center building that contained two elevators that would take visitors in and out of the caverns below. The new center included a cafeteria, waiting room, museum and first aid area.
Some of the following rooms are not open to the public because of inaccessibility and safety issues.
Rock of Ages in the Big Room, Balloon Ballroom, Bat Cave, Bell Cord Room, Bifrost Room, Big Room or The Hall of the Giants, Chocolate High, Green Lake Room, Guadalupe Room, Hall of the White Giant, Halloween Hall, King’s Palace, Lake of the Clouds, Left Hand Tunnel, Lil’ Lechuguilla, Mabel’s Room, Mystery Room, New Mexico Room, Papoose Room, Queen’s Chamber, Spirit World, Talcum Passage, The Rookery and the Underground Lunchroom.