Slide down or walk along the top of the world’s largest gypsum dune field at White Sands National Park near Alamogordo, N.M.
My family and I visited three national parks in west Texas and southern New Mexico: Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Guadalupe Mountains National Park (just a short stop), and White Sands National Park.
Overview
The park covers 145,762 acres in the Tularosa Basin, including the southern 41 percent of white sand dunes composed of gypsum crystals. The dunes reach up to 60 feet high and contain 4.5 billion tons of gypsum sand. The dune field was created from rain and snow dissolving gypsum from the surrounding mountains and carrying it into the basin.
White Sands National Park was originally a national monument designated on Jan. 18, 1933. On Dec. 20, 2019, President Donald Trump signed into law legislation that redesignated it as a national park.
The park is surrounded by the White Sands Missile Range, which leads to occasional closures. Check the website for more information.
OUR TIME HERE
First, we stopped at the visitor center that is near the entrance to the park. There are exhibits that help visitors learn the history, geology, and natural history of the national park. You can also watch a 17-minute film about the park.
Along with the visitor center is a gift shop and the White Sands Trading Post. Since the sleds we bought for ourselves did not work well at Monahans Sandhills State Park, we decided to try the ones sold at the White Sands Trading Post. We went with a wooden longboard one; there were other options to choose from.
Driving to the Sand Dunes
Next, we headed down the park road. You will pass by the Playa Trail on the right. It is a 0.5-mile round-trip trail with interpretive signs where you can learn about the area’s ecosystem.
Next, you come to the one-mile out-and-back Dune Life Nature Trail, where you will see the desert scrub community. If we had more time, we might have checked these out, but our son was focused on sledding.
The next trail parking area for the Interdune boardwalk is closed. After passing here, the pavement ends, and you will be driving on sand. It is well compacted, so it is not hard to drive on, but it is different.
Next, we reached the start of the road loop and turned right.
Roadrunner Picnic Area
We first parked at the Roadrunner Picnic Area and went sledding there. The dunes were not as big, but they gave us an idea of how to get going down the dunes.
Alkali Flat Area
After sledding on dunes above the Roadrunner Picnic Area, we headed to the Alkali Flat Trail area. The dunes are larger here. You can do a five-mile backcountry hike here, but it is strenuous, not flat, and leads to the dry lakebed of Lake Otero.
Sledding
The dunes were high here, and we headed up them. At first, it was tough. Then we realized that using tracks of where people had sledded before helped. Although going up and down the dunes is strenuous work. We never got going as well as my son would have liked, but it was still fun.
The best part for me was looking out from the high dunes at distant mountains and even the parking area below.
Final Thoughts
I have never been in such a space that was so white. Also, parking on the sand was a different experience. I really enjoyed just taking in the views and playing in the sand. If you ever wanted to be in a desert-like area with white sand, then this is the place to go.
DETAILS
Admission: $15-$25– Standard Pass, $45–Annual Pass, American the Beautiful Pass ( Includes Senior Passes), Free-$250. Check the website for more information.
Hours: 7 a.m.–Sunset, Every Day
The park gates always open at 7 a.m., with closing hours changing with sunset. The park closes 30 minutes after local sunset. The local sunset is 8 minutes earlier than Alamogordo’s predicted sunset. Sunset times can be found at https://sunrise-sunset.org/us/alamogordo-nm. Check the website for information on closings for major holidays.
NOTE: Park operating hours vary by season, and the park is occasionally closed for periods due to missile tests at the adjacent White Sands Missile Range or winter weather. Visitors are encouraged to check the Park Closure webpage to verify that a closure is not in effect.
Parking: The Roadrunner Picnic Area and the Primrose Picnic Area have small dunes for sliding. Alkali Flat Trail parking leads to large dunes for sliding.
The visitor center and all trails have their own parking.
Visitor Center Address: 19955 US-70, Alamogordo, NM 88310
ALAMOGORDO ADVENTURE
We stayed the night in Alamogordo and checked out a few sites.
Hotel Stay: Holiday Inn Express and Suites
The hotel is located on the south side of Alamogordo, nearer to White Sands National Park. It has a pool and a continental breakfast.
Address: 100 Kerry Avenue, Alamogordo, New Mexico, 88310
After checking out White Sands National Park, we went to the New Mexico Museum of Space History.
NEW MEXICO MUSEUM OF SPACE HISTORY
The museum was closing shortly after we got there, so we only had time to explore the grounds and not the museum. It offers a variety of artifacts and displays related to aerospace, space flight and the space age, with a focus on New Mexico’s role in the U.S. manned space program. The museum also includes a planetarium and a large-screen movie.
John P. Stapp Air and Space Park
The Space Park consists of large space-related artifacts documenting mankind’s exploration of space. Examples of exhibits included below.
Ham the Astro-Chimp Memorial
The first hominoid launched into space, Ham, was trained right here in Alamogordo at Holloman Air Force Base. Ham was an important piece of human space flight and is honored at our museum. People leave behind bananas in memory of his contribution to space travel.
Other Space Artifacts
A pillar on the grounds is a memorial to astronauts who have died.
The “Waterbrake” was part of the Daisy Track deceleration system. It was used to stop the sled at the end of the run and provide a very specific G-force (deceleration rate). On 16 May 1958, Captain Eli L. Beeding, Jr. inadvertently experienced an incredible 83 G’s of deceleration during a test on the Daisy Track.
The Little Joe II rocket, which tested the Apollo Launch Escape System. At 86 feet tall, Little Joe II is the largest rocket ever launched from New Mexico.
You can see a mockup of the Apollo Command Module to get an idea of the small space the astronauts worked in as they headed into space in the 1960s.
These were just some of the artifacts of space travel on the grounds that we checked out.
Museum Admission: $8, Adults; $7, Seniors; $6, Children (4-12); and free for those three and under. Giant Screen Film and Planetarium cost extra. Check the website for information.
Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Wednesday-Saturday; 12 p.m. – 5 p.m., Sunday; 10 a.m. -5 p.m., Monday; Closed, Tuesday
Address: 3198 State Rte 2001, Alamogordo, NM 88310
Caliche’s Frozen Custard
That evening we had Caliche’s Frozen Custard.
Hours: 11 a.m. – 9 p.m., Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m. – 10 p.m., Friday-Saturday; 12 p.m. – 9 p.m., Sunday
Address: 2251 N. White Sands Blvd. #6139, Alamogordo, N.M., 88310
Next Day: PistachioLand
Here you can turn PistachioLand for $5, but we had enough fun checking out the gift shop and grounds. You can take a photo in front of the world’s largest pistachio.
Then you can try different pistachio flavors in the gift shop.
On a hot day, we had ice cream and shakes with, of course, pistachios.
It is a fun place even if you are not a fan of pistachios.
Hours: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Daily
Address: 7320 Hwy 54 70, Alamogordo, NM 88310
MORE NEARBY TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
Short Hike at Guadalupe Mountains National Park
At Guadalupe Mountains National Park, a short hike led to the ruins of the Old Butterfield Stagecoach Route Pinery Station and native plants.
Check Out Carlsbad Caverns Nearby
See the largest underground chamber in North America, at almost 4,000 feet long, and watch thousands of bats leave the cave at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico.
