Our area’s two outstanding national parks will both soon be celebrating major anniversaries. Our neighbors to the south, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, recently announced that the park would be commemorating its 50th anniversary with a series of ranger-guided tours, hikes and other activities. Even though the national park is officially located in Texas, even former Governor Rick Perry proclaimed that Carlsbad was the gateway to the Guadalupe Mountains.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park was formally established six years after receiving authorization from Congress on Sept. 30, 1972. The park is celebrating with a series of history-oriented talks, house tours and a night sky program.
While McKittrick Canyon and Guadalupe Peak are two of the park’s most popular hikes, the national park holds numerous secret treasures. For example, Wallace and Iris Pratt lived in a home they called “Ship on the Desert” for 15 years before donating the house and surrounding ranch to the National Park Service. The home isn’t typically open to visitors, but small tours are being offered in celebration of the 50th anniversary.
For a schedule of 50th anniversary events, please visit https://www.nps.gov/gumo/learn/historyculture/gumo50.htm.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park will be celebrating its 100th anniversary next year. This is an anniversary of President Calvin Coolidge establishing Carlsbad Cave National Monument on Oct. 25, 1923. We had a good visit with Park Superintendent Carmen Chapin recently, and we are very excited about working with the Caverns to celebrate this important date.
Congress established Carlsbad Caverns National Park in 1930. Of course, the cave itself had already existed for millions of years, and it was known by the residents of the area for a very long time as well. President Coolidge’s proclamation is still a good historical date for marking the anniversary.
Carlsbad Caverns will be celebrating its 100th anniversary throughout the year with special activities at the park related to history, education, culture and science. We will be adding partner events in town to join in on this celebration. Not everyone can say they have a national park in their own backyard.
The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce will even be using the park’s special logo for this celebration while giving out materials at the upcoming Balloon Fiesta. Creative Carlsbad has also designed a special logo for community use. It will be a great time to visit or revisit Carlsbad Caverns National Park, or invite family and friends from out of town to come visit.
Both Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Carlsbad Caverns National Park have seen a significant increase in visitation over the past few years. We’re proud to be the gateway to both of these outstanding parks.
Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway