Note: Reservations are not accepted for the Bat Flight Breakfast. There is no camping in the park.

Mark your calendars! The 51st annual Bat Flight Breakfast at Carlsbad Caverns National Park has been set for Saturday, July 19, 2008. Activities will begin at 5 a.m. on Saturday with an outdoor breakfast.

“We hope visitors will attend the prior evening’s bat flight program, wake up to a good breakfast, and then watch the bats fly back into the cave!” said breakfast coordinator Avelina Childress. “Some summer evenings there are over a thousand people watching the bats fly out of the cave, but the mornings are peaceful since very few people get up early enough to experience the in-flight.”

The Bat Flight Breakfast began in 1957 as a way to encourage visitors to see the bats’ morning return flight. Before entering the cave in the morning, the bats circle several hundred feet overhead and then dive in clusters into the cave entrance. Unlike the shorter nighttime exodus out of the cave when the bats spiral up and leave the cave, the sunrise return to the cave normally spans several hours.

Reservations are not accepted, but “we've never turned anyone away from the breakfast,” said public affairs specialist Bridget Litten. “Everyone is invited!”

Breakfast is $7 for adults and $3 for children age 12 and under, and includes free entrance to the self-guided portions of Carlsbad Cavern. This year’s breakfast includes breakast burritos with eggs, sausage, potatoes, cheese, and/or salsa; orange juice, coffee and milk; and whole fruit.

In addition to breakfast, the first 150 visitors in line for breakfast will be able to participate in a guided lantern tour in Carlsbad Cavern via the natural entrance—you’ll see the cave much like early explorers did! Entrance to the self-guided portions of the Cavern will be free to all Bat Flight Breakfast participants.

The annual breakfast is sponsored by the Caverns Activity Association, the park’s concessioner Carlsbad Trading Company, and the Carlsbad Community Kitchen in cooperation with the National Park Service.

For more information, contact Avelina Childress at 505.785.3124.