Where to stay

While the region is best known for its outdoor beauty, Carlsbad also has interesting cultural attractions. Stay in Downtown Carlsbad to visit the Carlsbad Museum and Art Center, which features art and artifacts revealing the prehistory and history of the region. To the north Artesia has cultural attractions of its own. Stay here to visit a performing arts center and several museums. Heading to the southwest, find accommodations near the Carlsbad Community Theatre for a wide range of popular plays and musicals.

The primary attractions in and around Carlsbad are outdoor natural wonders. Stay in Whites City to explore the caves, canyons, cacti, and wildlife of Carlsbad Caverns National Park in the Chihuahuan Desert, and go bird-watching in the Black River Recreation Area. Book accommodations in Carlsbad North for hiking and observing native plant and animal species in the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park. One of the area's top attractions, Sitting Bull Falls, is just over a 1-hour drive from hotels in Carlsbad North or Whites City. Right in Downtown Carlsbad, the neighborhood along Lake Carlsbad has a municipal beach, golf course, and peaceful park.

Stay in Carlsbad for the region's greatest number of dining choices. The main strip running through town is lined with fast-food options, cafés and coffee shops, Mexican restaurants, and barbecue joints, while the city also has fine dining choices and even a Japanese restaurant. Artesia is a good place to stay to visit several of New Mexico's wineries. Restaurants here offer Mexican food, steak and barbecue, and fast-food options. In July, book accommodations near the Eddy County Fairgrounds to sample some of the fun culinary favorites on offer at the Eddy County Fair, where there's also concerts, agricultural displays, and a chilli cook-off.