1 active Carlsbad Caverns alert
- ClosureFlood-damaged road and trails remain closedWalnut Canyon Desert Drive and three backcountry trail sections remain closed because of extensive damage from the historic August 2022 flood.Official details
Overview
About Sunset Reef Campground
Why stop
- A practical base for both nearby national parks
- Shaded picnic tables and grills at all 11 sites
Heads up
- No potable water on site
- Open pad-style layout offers limited privacy
Map
Where it is
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Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Carlsbad Caverns Tour Guide
Your drive to Sunset Reef Campground, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Carlsbad Caverns National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Sunset Reef Campground Access0:00 / 0:26
“You're coming up on the access for Sunset Reef Campground, reached by a dirt road off Washington Ranch Road.”
Plays as you drive up to Sunset Reef Campground in the Parkwolf Carlsbad Caverns Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- One Bloom for Lechuguilla
- Rattlesnake Springs
- Ancient Defenses in the Dark
- From Bats to Citrus Groves
- 26 audio storiesacross Carlsbad Caverns’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Mexican Free-tailed Bat, Aoudad, Mule Deer, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 12 trails, 12 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about Sunset Reef Campground
A useful base campSunset Reef Campground is a small dry campground on a reclaimed well pad, about 14 miles from…
Sunset Reef Campground is a small dry campground on a reclaimed well pad, about 14 miles from Carlsbad Caverns and 30 miles from Guadalupe Mountains National Park. It’s a practical overnight base if you’re visiting either park, but the open, level setting feels more like a gravel pad than a secluded campground. The 11 sites—five for RVs and six for tents—are first come, first served, with a five-night limit.
What each site hasEvery site has a shaded picnic table, fire pit and grill, and one vault toilet serves the…
Every site has a shaded picnic table, fire pit and grill, and one vault toilet serves the campground. There’s no potable water, so arrive with drinking water. The open layout offers less privacy than a wooded campground, but the designated sites give you a table and shade.
Find the turnoffFrom Carlsbad, follow US 62/180 south and watch for the large red Washington Ranch sign between…
From Carlsbad, follow US 62/180 south and watch for the large red Washington Ranch sign between mile markers 10 and 11. After turning onto Washington Ranch Road, take the first right and continue 0.7 mile on dirt road. Whites City, about six miles north, has food and fuel options. Perimeter sites are the ones visitors mention for sunset views and the Guadalupe Mountains.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Carlsbad Caverns
48 sightingsMexican Free-tailed BatMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
175 sightingsAoudadMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
38 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
86 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
33 sightingsCollared PeccaryMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
52 sightingsLargemouth BassMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Carlsbad Caverns. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
