Anthony Gap Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 31.9982°N, 106.5102°W
INTO THE DARK · CAVES DIRECTORY
Caves in New Mexico
39 Caves Found Free Options Available
New Mexico has some of the most remarkable cave systems in the world. Carlsbad Caverns is 119 caves carved by sulfuric acid into a Permian reef, with a Big Room so large it would swallow three football fields — plus a half-million bat flight at sunset from spring through fall. El Malpais has free lava tubes with permanent ice floors in July. Parks Ranch Cave is the longest gypsum cave on public land in the US. If you drive through New Mexico without going underground, you've missed half of it.
Every cave listed here is on public or accessible land. Always bring three light sources, water, and let someone know your plans before entering any undeveloped cave. Temperature inside: typically 50–62°F year-round. Explore all caves on the Trek4Free map →
Type
Access
Aztec Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 31.9218°N, 106.5037°W
Bandera Volcano and Ice Cave
Ice Cave Self-Guided Private $14
A cinder cone volcano you can hike to and an ice cave at the base of its lava field — two geologic opposites on the same 1.8-mile loop, located in the El Malpais volcanic field of New Mexico. The ice …
Bandera Volcano Ice Cave
Ice Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 34.9917°N, 108.0830°W
Bat Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 32.9323°N, 107.2348°W
Bear Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 35.7915°N, 105.7999°W
Big Skylight Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 34.9454°N, 108.1012°W
Carlsbad Cavern
Limestone Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 32.1771°N, 104.4410°W
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Limestone Self-Guided Nat'l Park $15
The heavy hitter of the American cave world — 119 caves carved by sulfuric acid into a Permian reef, topped by a Big Room so large it would swallow three football fields end to end. The Natural Entran…
Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 35.5057°N, 106.9106°W
Cave of the Winds
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 35.8809°N, 106.3418°W
Cueva del Apache
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 31.7027°N, 106.5831°W
Cueva del Indio
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 31.6909°N, 106.5820°W
Cueva la Ventana
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 31.7021°N, 106.5853°W
Diamond Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 34.0311°N, 104.6879°W
Drill Hole
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 33.8089°N, 105.2018°W
El Malpais National Monument - Lava Tubes
Lava Tube Wild Cave Nat'l Park Free
Free, self-guided lava tube exploration on a landscape of young volcanic flows in western New Mexico — one of the best free caving experiences in the country. El Malpais (Spanish for 'the badlands') s…
Embudo Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 35.2035°N, 106.4140°W
Fort Stanton Cave
Cave Self-Guided BLM
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 33.5068°N, 105.4935°W
Geronimo
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 32.4573°N, 106.9176°W
Giant Ice Cave
Ice Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 34.9469°N, 108.1005°W
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
Natural Cave Self-Guided Nat'l Park $10
Natural cave shelters in a volcanic tuff cliff face above the West Fork of the Gila River, occupied by Mogollon people in the late 1200s and abandoned within a generation. The cliff dwellings sit insi…
Hot Springs Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 35.7915°N, 106.6875°W
Ice Cave
Ice Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 34.9302°N, 108.0862°W
Junction Cave (no entry)
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 34.9690°N, 108.0030°W
Kokopelli's Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 36.7892°N, 108.2084°W
La Cueva
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 32.3352°N, 106.5946°W
La Cueva
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 32.3345°N, 106.5937°W
Lava Bomb Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 34.8935°N, 108.1185°W
Manilla Thrilla Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 32.9308°N, 107.2330°W
Ogle Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 32.1228°N, 104.5627°W
Owl Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 34.0029°N, 104.6589°W
Painted Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 35.7224°N, 106.3199°W
Parks Ranch Cave
Gypsum Wild Cave BLM Free
The longest gypsum cave on public land in the United States — over four miles of mapped passages through evaporite formations in the Gila National Forest region of southwest New Mexico, and it is comp…
Parks Ranch Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 32.1109°N, 104.4071°W
Sandia Man Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 35.2547°N, 106.4056°W
Slaughter Canyon Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 32.1123°N, 104.5695°W
The Grotto
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 31.9705°N, 104.7881°W
Torgac Cave
Cave Self-Guided Public Land
OSM-mapped cave entrance · 33.8630°N, 105.0800°W