Rattlesnake Springs
A lush oasis in the desert of Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Driving further south past Whites City, a second road turns off the highway into Carlsbad Caverns National Park. This road leads back to Rattlesnake Springs and then on further into the park to Slaughter Canyon Cave. We did not drive clear to the cave today, but Rattlesnake Springs is a definite must see.
During the Depression of the 1930’s, more than 50,000 young men from the area worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps developing Rattlesnake Springs into a permanent water source for Carlsbad Caverns. They built roads, parking areas, and trails making the park more accessible for visitors.
A small cemetery for the Welch family, Anna Frances, Laura, Uncle Daniel, and Grandpa, catches your eye. There are no historical signs here, but Rich pulled over to let me get some photos.
The road is stone (gravel) as you near the springs and is suitable for all vehicles. A nice picnic area appears. There is a restroom here and places to park for walking the 200 yard trail to the spring.
Nearing the end of the 200 yard walk, an abandoned private residence appears on the right.
On the left is the pump building built in 1880 by homesteader Henry Harrison. All the water at Carlsbad Caverns comes from this spring.
The spring sits directly behind the pumphouse. Groundwater percolates through the rock and emerges at the surface in this spot. The water is sparkling clear.
It was so cool to see this world beneath the water and Rich found several large bass swimming around that he would have loved to fish for, but the sign stated no swimming or fishing.
I was excited to see signs of spring in a few of the trees here. I’m not sure what kind of trees they are. I did an image search on Google and it could be a number of things. It doesn’t matter what kind of tree it is. The white flowers and green buds were enough to bring me joy.
A little further down the road is the Cottonwood Day Use Picnic Area with a wildlife viewing platform down a walking trail only 550 feet long. All in all, this drive is worth the time. It was a beautiful 80 degree day here with a light breeze. Not a day to be wasted sitting inside writing.
I hope you enjoyed this short trip into another section of Carlsbad Caverns National Park. If you would like to read my other articles about the park and the caverns to get a much fuller description of the area, they are listed below. Thanks for reading and joining me today.