Bat Flight Amphitheater
The Bat Flight Amphitheater is an open-air amphitheater for viewing bats in the Carlsbad Caverns National Park in the Guadalupe Mountains of southeastern New Mexico. From the end of May to October, the National Park Service hosts visitors in the amphitheater to view Mexican free-tailed bats leaving the Carlsbad Cavern in large numbers at nightfall through its main entrance. Built between 1963 and 1966, the amphitheater is made of limestone. It is about wide and made up of 22 rows of seating arranged in tiered arches and separated by a central aisle with a staircase . Overall, it drops down about . The amphitheater is a contributing property to the Caverns Historic District, which mainly houses administrative buildings northwest of the amphitheater and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The upper part of the amphitheater is reached by the Carlsbad Caverns Trail, a hiking trail leading from the park's tourist office in the southwest, which then sinks into the cavern in the northeast. The trail has also been listed as a National Recreation Trail since 1983.