A Day At White Sands National Park
As you are approaching the visitor center for White Sands National Park, the shimmering sand dunes appear like a mirage! We have been to sand dunes at Death Valley and being in California, surrounded by the sandy beaches around us. But the dazzling and beaming white sand dunes are truly wondrous in every sense.
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Geology Of White Sands
The creation of these stunning white sands started millions of years ago when the Permian sea retreated leaving behind gypsum layers. For thousands of years, wind and sun are continuously separating the gypsum from shallow lakes in the basin forming the selenite crystals.
Over a period of time, these crystals are broken down by water and wind, making them smaller and smaller until they are grains of sand. Steady and gusty winds carry these gypsum sand and form dunes of various sizes and shapes.
Finally, the reason for these to be formed in this particular area is due to the water table below the ground, that glues the sand and holds it together. Gypsum Dunes tend to remain moister compared to other dunes during the dry spell.
There are some other places in the world with white sand dunes, but this is the world’s largest white gypsum dune field encompassing 275 square miles of the area!
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We had booked our King’s Palace Tour which waThe gypsum sand dunes at White sands can be seen shining from far away as you are driving on US-70. This park is home to many plants and animals with unique adaptations.
Scenic Dunes Drive inside the park gives you an opportunity to experience the dunes up close. The Dunes Drive 8 miles two-way scenic road that takes you to different points of interest inside the park.
Since the trails inside the park involve walking across dunes, it is very easy to lose the direction of the trail. So, the park makes use of a unique marker for each of the trail in the park.
As always Visitor Center was our first stop during our visit to the White Sands National Park.
White Sands National Park Visitor Center
We highly recommend stopping at the visitor center, since this is the only place where water is available. There is no water inside the park past the visitor center. The visitor center also shows an orientation film “A Land in Motion” tracing the history of the park and surrounding area every 20 minutes. The movie is very intriguing and informative.
A hiker on the dunes at White Sands National Monument
Scenic Dune Drive
From the visitor center, we started on our drive through the scenic Dune Drive. As you start your drive, you won’t immediately notice the sand dunes for a few miles. The first turnout on the Drive is Playa Trail on the right side. This is a 0.5-mile easy self-guided trail. Going further north, the next turnout comes on the left-hand side for Dune Life Nature Trail. It is a moderate 1-mile loop trail. Make a note that the trails and sand dunes in this area are for looking at the plants and animals living in the park. For sledding and other fun activities keep driving further north into the heart of the dunes.
Once you drive approx 3 miles on the scenic drive, the paved road ends and you will be driving on the hard packed gypsum sand road, with huge sand dunes on either side of the road. From here, you can see the beauty and the twinkling of the sand dunes all around you.
Around 6 miles on the scenic drive, you will come across a loop road which has multiple points of interest on either side of the loop. We kept driving on the road passing through Primrose and Roadrunner Picnic area towards the Alkali Flat Trail.
Beginning of Alkali Flats Trail, White Sands National Monument
Alkali Flat Trail
This is the most strenuous hike in the park but highly recommended as you will get to explore some of the most secluded and bigger sand dunes of the park. The trail is 5 miles loop with the trail marker color being Red and Trail marker symbol “Diamond”. We parked our vehicle in the parking area and with a clear sky above us, started walking on the dunes following the markers along the way.
The powerful wind creates waves on the White Sand Dunes, White Sands National Monument
Within half a mile into the trail, you will be right in the hearts of the sand dunes with almost all the dunes for yourself! The white unbroken vistas of the sand dunes are something, you won’t see anywhere else in the park. Some of the dunes in this area are more than 2-3 story height of a building.
White Sand Dune with Blue skies in the background
Cave Pearls were seen in the Green Lake Room as we started making our way back towards the natural entrance trail route. We highly recommend everyone planning to visit the national park, to book a tour of King’s Palace, since there is so much of natural beauty around that it will definitely be the highlight of your visit! At the same time, this tour is less challenging that does not involve crawling and climbing as compared to the other tours offered by the Park.
Beautiful White Sand dune and dust storm in the background
Halfway through the loop, you descend from the high dunes into a dry lakebed of Lake Otero, which filled the bottom of Tularosa Basin during the ice age. Make sure to follow the markers, so that you can stay on the trail and avoid trespassing.
Similarly, the weather in the park can change quickly. After hiking around 3.5 miles of the trail, we suddenly started noticing some dust storms far away making their way towards us. February through May is the windy season of the park and these dust storms can reduce visibility quickly and also erase the footprints and disorient you, so always look out for the markers on the trail.
It took us roughly 3 hours to complete the trail and though it drained us a bit, we enjoyed it every minute of it! Without a doubt, we found absolute solitude along with the surreal landscape.
A hiker on the Alkali Flat Trail - White Sands National Monument
White sands national park with its dramatic landscape of white sand dunes, blue skies makes a perfect backdrop for filmmakers to capture their stories on lenses. More than 20 Hollywood movies have been filmed in this park since 1950. This area gives you an opportunity to create your own movie with the stunning and shining white sand dunes!
The covered picnic tables are also surrounded by dunes that are great for playing on
The Picnic areas inside the park are absolutely great. They have dedicated picnic tables with grills available. We stopped to enjoy some of our snacks before heading towards our last activity for the day.
Picnic Areas have everything except for water, so please make sure you are carrying enough water with you before you head into the park.
Witnessed Jaw dropping sunset views at White Sands National Park during the sunset stroll
Sunset Stroll
Sunset Stroll is a popular Ranger-led hike program of the park. The schedule for this activity is usually posted here.
This was another fun activity for us in the park as Joseph, our ranger walked us through the history of White Sands. The Program duration is around 45 minutes and starts from the Sunset Stroll Sign Parking Area. During this hike, you will be strolling through the gypsum sand dunes and as the sun starts to set, usually it gets colder, so keep that in mind.
Our Ranger explained to us how the white sand dunes are being created since ages and showed us some exhibits along the way. He pointed us to the vegetation seen on the dunes and how they are adapting to their environment. You will see the Yucca plant’s on the stroll which is considered the state flower of New Mexico.
Joseph, was patient enough to answer all our questions and gave us a picture of how beautiful and at the same time distinct these white sand dunes are!
Beautiful Sunset at White Sands National Park
White Sands National Park is one of the dazzling gems in New Mexico, that one must experience during their visit to the state. The park offers lots of activities for different age groups. Hiking in the sand dunes and sledding are most popular of them. Nonetheless, it also offers a great opportunity for night sky viewing.
Witnessed the Pink and Purple hues in the Sky after Sunet at White Sands National Monument
The national park can be covered as a day trip. We loved our time appreciating the magic and pizzaz that these uncommon dunes offered. There is no doubt in our mind that exploring the dunes gave us one of the most memorable and sparkling moments of our life!
There are very few places, which gives us a chance to go around 900 feet deep below the earth’s surface and explore rooms after rooms with gorgeous decorations all around. Carlsbad Caverns is no doubt one of the rarest gems of a place that you can visit in your lifetime.
In our travel adventures, we were lucky enough to visit some of the amazing places on earth. But we were completely blown away with the amount of beauty inside these caverns. Tucked away so far below the earth’s surface these caverns depict the nature’s marvel where each drop of water counts!
Plan your visit
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December-June is probably the best time to visit the Park as the Summer temperatures can be as high as 110F on some days. Also, precipitation is more during the summer months.
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Nearest Airport to the park is El Paso International Airport (ELP) which is in Texas ~98 miles from the park's visitor center.
If traveling from Albuquerque Airport (ABQ) in New Mexico, the park is ~223 miles away.
Nearest Cities to White Sands National Park are Alamogordo, NM (~15 miles), and Las Cruces (~ 50 miles).
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White Sands National park is surrounded by protected and private land of Missile Range. Missile Range conducts periodic missile tests and during those times, the park is closed.
Always check Park’s Alerts before your visit.
Carry ample water and sunscreen and avoid hikes when the temperature rises above 80F.
If you are an avid photographer, check out some of the tips for photography in the park before your visit.
Park has a Leave No Trace Policy.
Weather in the desert region can change dramatically, so don’t be shy to carry an extra jacket and footwear on your adventure.
The sled/Waxed plastic snow saucers can be purchased at the park gift shop.
Cell service is limited in the park and data availability is minimal in the dunes. Plan your visit and stay with your group while hiking the dunes.
Keep Following our adventures and feel free to share your adventures at this National Park in the comments!
