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White Sands National Park

White Sands National Park with 275 square miles of glistening white gypsum in the Chihuahuan Desert is the largest gypsum dune field in the world. It’s also the only national park that may be closed due to missile testing!

New Mexico  
2009

About The Park

When I visited this park in 2009 it was White Sands National Monument. It became the 62nd and newest national park as of December 20, 2019.

For us it was basically a drive-by park. We were on the way to Carlsbad Caverns and being familiar with the history of White Sands I made it a point to stop and spend a few hours there. These two national parks are only about 175 miles apart so visiting both on one trip is not too difficult.

It is an unusual place blanketed by the bright white gypsum sands. The visitor center is located on the east side of the park on the road from Alamogordo, New Mexico. It had lots of interesting information and exhibits. We drove the park drive, took some short hikes out onto the dunes and found it well worth taking the time to stop here. If you plan on doing some hiking on the dunes the visitor center is definitely where you should consult with the rangers as to what hike(s) may be appropriate for you. It is a sun-drenched gypsum desert and desert hiking has its own set of dangers.

For many of the locals with children it is their local playground - the equivalent of a beach without the water. The park has a limited number of shell-like shade shelters for picnicking and the dunes provide a surface to sled down on plastic boards or discs.

The park is open all year but you should consult with the NPS website to make sure you won’t run into a missile test closure. U.S. Highway 70 may also be closed.
  

Wildlife

Kit foxes, badgers, turtles, toads, frogs, lizards, salamanders, snakes, including prairie rattlesnakes, mockingbirds, ravens, owls, hawks and greater road runners can be found in the park.

Lodging

There is no lodging in the park. The nearby town of Alamogordo, New Mexico, 13 miles away, has several of the standard hotel chains and some local inns. There is also lodging in Las Cruces, New Mexico which is 50 miles away.

Hiking

While the gypsum sands do not retain heat the way the beach does, the summer months can be dangerous for the unprepared. This is a desert and every bit as forbidding as any desert is in hot weather. There is no shade, water or, on some longer trails, no toilet facilities. There is a link below for the NPS website on the hikes and how to do them safely. We hiked these first three.

Interdune Boardwalk

This is an easy, half-mile round trip interpretive walk through the dunes. There’s information about the geology, plants and animals that live in the park.

Playa Trail

This is also an easy, self-guided, half-mile round trip with exhibits.

Dune Life Nature Trail

This is a moderate, 1-mile round trip loop hike.

Alkali Flats Trail

This is a strenuous, 5-mile round trip loop hike. The park service advises visitors to not take this trail if the temperature is over 85 degrees. There is no shade whatsoever. In September, 2018 a Belgian tourist was found unresponsive on this trail and later died. In August, 2015 a French couple died while hiking on this trail. Their 9-year old son survived. We did not take this hike. It was hot and we heeded the warnings.

Other Points of Interest

White Sands Missile Range

With the White Sands Missile Range completely surrounding the park there are times that the park is closed for periods of up to three hours for missile testing. Holloman Air Force Base is located near the entrance to the park and, from time to time, the silence may be shattered by the sound of Air Force F-22 Raptor jets.

In years past occasionally errant missiles have fallen on the park damaging or destroying some visitor areas.

These may be two unusual neighbors for a national park and, due to the proximity of these two highly restricted and sensitive areas, they had to weigh in on the decision to change it from White Sands National Monument to White Sands National Park.

The connection with the military goes back to the Trinity Test. At the northern end of the missile range was the site of the first explosion of an atomic bomb in July, 1945 three weeks prior to its use to end the Second World War. Since then White Sands has also been part of the space program with NASA using it for various purposes including rocket propulsion systems and, earlier, for space shuttle landing tests

Trinity Site - Manhattan Project - Atomic Bomb Test

The Trinity Site is a national historic landmark and tours are given twice a year. They attract people with an interest in atomic tourism. Seventy years after the test the site is still radioactive but the amount of radiation an adult receives in one hour is about what one receives in one-half of a day from the normal background radiation. There is an obelisk commemorating the event and some artifacts left over from the tests. The site is near the northern border of the missile range and not accessible from the park itself. If visiting here interests you there are two links at the bottom that can help you get there.

White Sands National Park Photo Gallery

Other Resources

White Sands National Park on the National Parks Service website - NPS.gov

White Sands National Park - Wikipedia

Hiking in White Sands National Park - NPS.gov

Alamogordo, New Mexico - Wikipedia

Touring the Trinity Site

McDonald Ranch House - Trinity Site - Wikipedia

Other National Parks Within a Day’s Drive

Carlsbad Caverns National Park America’s most spectacular cavern is about 235 miles to the southeast and about a 5 hour drive.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park is about 205 miles to the southeast.

Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains are only about 35 miles from each other so visiting these two on one trip is easy.

Big Bend National Park has the Chisos Mountains and Chihuahuan desert is about 425 miles to the southeast and about a 7.5 hour drive. Big Bend is a terrific park that won’t disappoint.
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