Parking
Use the Walnut Canyon Overlook roadside lot along the paved road to the visitor center. The walkway starts from the lot.
Overview
About Walnut Canyon Overlook Trail
Why go
- A broad canyon view after a short paved walk
Heads up
- Only about 0.2 miles round trip; more a quick stop than a hike
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Carlsbad Caverns map
Full mapElevation4,247–4,274 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Carlsbad Caverns Tour Guide
Your drive to Walnut Canyon Overlook Trail, 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 trailhead
Walnut Canyon Overlook0:00 / 0:16
“Up ahead is Walnut Canyon Overlook, a quick look across the canyon's pale limestone slopes and broad bends. The paved path takes about five minutes each way; allow fifteen with a pause at the view.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Carlsbad Caverns Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Big Hill Seep
- Carlsbad Cavern and the Visitor Center
- Walnut Canyon Rock Shelter
- The Cloud That Wasn’t Smoke
- 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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Walnut Canyon Overlook Trail
A short out-and-backWalnut Canyon Overlook is a paved path from a roadside parking lot to a viewpoint over the…
Walnut Canyon Overlook is a paved path from a roadside parking lot to a viewpoint over the canyon. The walk is 180 yards (165 m) one way, or about 360 yards (0.2 miles / 330 m) round trip. It has an elevation change of about 22 feet (7 m) and takes roughly five minutes each way; allow around 15 minutes with a pause at the overlook. This is a quick leg-stretcher on the road to the visitor center, not a longer hike.
Follow the pavementStart at the overlook lot and take the paved walkway to the viewpoint, then return the same way.
Start at the overlook lot and take the paved walkway to the viewpoint, then return the same way. It is a direct route rather than a loop, with no route choice to sort out. The short, easy grade makes the walk a simple stop between drives. Pets are not permitted on park trails.
Look across Walnut CanyonAt the end, the view opens over broad canyon bends and yucca-dotted pale slopes.
At the end, the view opens over broad canyon bends and yucca-dotted pale slopes. A winding road below gives the landscape scale; for a photo, keep a yucca in the foreground and the road in the frame. The path is out in the desert sun with little shade, so bring water on hot days even though the walk is brief.
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.
