Date: April 18, 2007
Contact: Bridget Litten, 505.785.3024
Contact: Dave Thomas, 505.785.3097
From Monday, April 23 through Saturday, April 28, Carlsbad Caverns National Park will join the other 390 national park units across the country in celebrating National Park Week. This year’s theme of Learn, Explore, and Protect will be emphasized in the special programs the park is featuring during the week.
Highlights of this year’s National Park Week at Carlsbad Caverns include a historic re-enactment with Hal Waters as cattle rancher John Chisum, hands-on children’s activities about caves and deserts, guided lantern tours along the Main Corridor of Carlsbad Cavern, desert walks to explore the Chihuahuan Desert and the area’s premier birding area at Rattlesnake Springs, and climbing demonstrations to highlight the vertical skills needed to explore caves.
Programs in the visitor center theater are scheduled to begin between 1 and 4 p.m. Guided lantern tours, beginning at 3 p.m., are limited to 15 people. Tickets will be given out on a first come, first served basis. Children’s activities begin at 2:30 p.m.
All programs and activities for National Park Week area free, although entrance fees and regularly scheduled guided tour fees still apply.
The first National Park Week was in 1991 when President H.W. Bush proclaimed it to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the National Park Service. This “one-time” event has become an annual event celebrated in parks around the country.
For more information about National Park Week and Carlsbad Caverns’ scheduled activities, contact park ranger Dave Thomas at 505.785.3097, public affairs specialist Bridget Litten at 505.785.3024, or visit the park website at www.nps.gov/cave/planyourvisit/events.htm.
