White Sands NP

White Sands National Park

The largest gypsum dune field in the world is located at White Sands National Monument in south-central New Mexico. This dune field is very dynamic, with the most active dunes moving to the northeast at a rate of up to 30 feet per year, while the more stable areas of sand move very little.

This region of glistening white dunes is in the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert within an “internally drained valley” called the Tularosa Basin. The monument ranges in elevation from 3890′ to 4116′ above sea level. There are approximately 275 total square miles of dune fields here, with 115 square miles (about 40%) located within White Sands National Monument. The remainder is on military land that is not open to the public.

We drove from Carlsbad Caverns but you can easily get here from Albuquerque or Las Cruces. We arrived just as the full moon was rising and spent an hour getting familiar with the park. We returned the following morning and spent several hours in the park.

It really is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Rather than take one of the marked hikes, we parked in one of the side lots and headed out to play in the dunes. The sand was cool to the touch and pristine (we did find a few pieces of trash that we picked up.) At times there wasn’t another person as far as we could see but I’m sure in the summer, there are a lot more people.

Hiking the Dunes

1. Interdune Boardwalk: this trail is wheelchair accessible and is a short 0.4 mile trek out into the dunes via a wooden boardwalk.
2. Playa Trail: this trail is marked with green trail markers and is an easy 0.5 mile level hike through the playa. The majority of the year, the playa is a dry lakebed.
3. Dune Life Nature Trail: this trail is marked with blue trail markers and is considered a “moderate” 1 mile roundtrip hike through the dunes.
4. Backcountry Camping Trail: this trail is marked with orange trail markers and is 2 miles roundtrip. This is the same trail used to get to the backcountry campsites mentioned in the camping section below. On this trail you will hike over several steep dunes.
5. Alkali Flat Trail: this trail is marked with red trail markers and is considered the most difficult hike at the park. It is 5 miles round trip and is a strenuous trek up and down sand dunes the entire way.

Park Details

Park Hours

Opens at 7:00 am, closing time varies by the time of year.
No reservations are required

Visitor Center Hours and Parking

The visitor center has minimal parking for large RVs and trailers. Overflow large vehicle parking is available in the Administrative Building parking lot.

Entrance Fee

$25.00 per vehicle and valid for seven consecutive days and payable at the entrance booth on Dunes Drive.