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 Walnut Canyon Rock Shelter
Why stop
- A very short walk reaches a broad natural alcove.
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 Walnut Canyon Rock Shelter, 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
Walnut Canyon Rock Shelter0:00 / 0:22
“You're coming up on Walnut Canyon Rock Shelter, reached by the short Walnut Canyon Nature Trail. I'd stop for the plant panels, which explain yucca's use for fiber and soap, and Texas walnut wood for bows.”
Plays as you drive up to Walnut Canyon Rock Shelter in the Parkwolf Carlsbad Caverns Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Walnut Canyon Overlook
- Big Hill Seep
- An Acid Bath Underground
- Carlsbad Cavern and the Visitor Center
- 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 Walnut Canyon Rock Shelter
A short stop above groundWalnut Canyon Rock Shelter is a natural overhang reached by a short path from a roadside…
Walnut Canyon Rock Shelter is a natural overhang reached by a short path from a roadside pullout along the park’s entrance road. The described walk is about 0.2 mile round trip, partly paved, with roughly 12 feet of climbing, so it works as an easy detour rather than a hike.
Look at the overhang and the plantsAt the end of the path, the rock forms a broad alcove above a rocky clearing.
At the end of the path, the rock forms a broad alcove above a rocky clearing. Plant labels along the route identify desert species including skeleton-leaf goldeneye and sotol; it is a compact way to see a little of the Chihuahuan Desert without a long walk.
A small stop with a human-history storyThe shelter has been part of the park’s interpretation of human history along the entrance…
The shelter has been part of the park’s interpretation of human history along the entrance road, but the evidence here does not establish its age or a specific community of past users. Treat it as a brief surface stop alongside cavern plans, not as another cave visit.
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.
