This post may contain affiliate links. Click here to learn more.
Like Carlsbad Caverns and the Guadalupe Mountains, White Sands is a National Park tucked away in a remote part of the American Southwest. But our day in this little spot in the desert of New Mexico was a fascinating one.
As the name implies, this park revolves around miles of giant, rolling, white sand dunes. And if you’re thinking that you’ve already been there and done that by going to Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado, think again. White Sands is unique thanks to its sparkling bright color, the wildlife that lives in the dunes, and the landscape that surrounds it.
Plus, the little town of Alamogordo has some very cool things to do, and there is a ton of scientific and military history. A short drive up the mountains to the east brings you to ski stations and alpine wilderness.
So, this is an overall great place to spend a weekend or more. Keep reading to see what we did and what we recommend for visiting White Sands National Park.
Quick Summary: Enjoying White Sands National Park
- Stay in Alamogordo, NM, which has plenty of accommodations and dining
- Visit any time, but fall/spring have ideal weather
- Plan for one day in the park with easy to strenuous hiking
- Prioritize the Dune Life Nature Trail & Alkali Trail in the park
- Either visit later in the day or return in the evening, if interested in the sunset
- Besides the national park, visit The Museum of Space History in Alamogordo
How to Get There & Where to Stay: Alamogordo, New Mexico
White Sands National Park is about 20 minutes outside of Alamogordo, which is the closest and most convenient place to stay. The town is about a one-hour drive from the regional airport in Las Cruces and slightly more from the more major airport in El Paso, Texas. It’s about a three hour drive south of Albuquerque.
Therefore, a car is essential for this trip. If you’re driving from beyond the state, even better – New Mexico and the surrounding southwest have some stunning nature to see along the way and a few highly underrated stops.
Alamogordo has all the major hotel chains, plus restaurants and shopping. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn & Suites since we were prioritizing Marriott nights for our Titanium status, and it was a great choice with free parking and free breakfast. If you’re a Hilton traveler, there’s a Hampton Inn, and if you’re an IHG loyalist, there’s a Holiday Inn Express & Suites.
Each of those hotels are in the southern part of town, making them convenient to just drive down the highway to the national park. There’s a restaurant across the street from them called D.H. Lescombes Winery & Bistro that we highly recommend.
Alternatively, you could opt to stay up in the mountains in Cloudcroft or Ruidoso, but you’ll have more of a drive to the park. They surely have some great things to do up there, but so does Alamogordo, and you might want to make two separate visits to the park – more on all that below.
Tips for Visiting White Sands National Park
White Sands isn’t a huge national park. There’s just one main road that goes in and out with a loop at the end, with a one-way total of under 8 miles. There are plenty of hiking trails through the dunes, though. We found one day to be just fine.
The White Sands Visitor Center & Dunes Drive
You need to pass by the visitor center to access the park, but you technically don’t need to go inside, as the booths for passes and maps are just past it on Dunes Drive. But it’s worth a quick look inside to see the museum exhibits.
It’s always fun to learn about the history, nature, and geology of a national park, especially a unique one like this. You can also use the bathrooms here and stamp your national park passport in the gift shop. Finally, the rangers here can answer any questions you might have about your visit and inform you of any road closures – every once in a while, the military does testing at the nearby base that necessitates stopping traffic for a short amount of time.
You can also find this information on the park’s website. If the road is open (which it usually is), show your pass at the booth and proceed down Dunes Drive. You won’t get lost, it’s the only one!
Dune Life Nature Trail
The first few minutes along the road are not through dunes. You’ll come across stops for the Dune Life Nature Trail. While it may not look like it from the street, this is a great first stop to do a bit of hiking.
The Dune Life Nature Trail has a small parking lot and a short, flat dirt trail to the beginning of the dunes. You’ll have to climb a steep but short dune to see what’s beyond. Once at the top, you’ll get your first glimpse of the seemingly endless dune landscape.
There is technically a trail through these dunes marked by signs, but it’s not easy to see. A good rule of thumb is not to hike on dunes that don’t have footsteps. You can make this hike as easy or difficult as you’d like, as there are tall dunes to scale but also flat spots to enjoy.
This part of the park has plant life and some wildlife on the dunes, as opposed to the emptiness of the ones to come. It makes it a great place for photography and relaxing in front of the view. We took our shoes off to feel the sand on our feet and were delighted to find that the white sand does not get heated up from the sun!
Playa Trail
Right across the street from the Dune Life Nature Trail is the Playa Trail. It doesn’t have much of a parking lot, but there is some room on the side of the road. It’s a short trail through flat desert bush (not dunes) to a playa – a lake that dries up seasonally.
When we were there in October, the playa was totally dry. To be honest, this wasn’t the most interesting stop on our visit, and you can safely skip it if you don’t have much time. There are some informational signs about the nature and history of this spot, and you might see some wildlife, though.
Loop Drive, Backcountry Campsites, and Picnic Areas
Continuing down Dunes Drive, the sand dunes will quickly converge on the road, and they will be directly on either side of you. We found it to look like a freshly plowed street after a snowstorm, but the banks were made of sand! It is a very cool sight to see.
Soon, Dunes Drive will split into Loop Drive, which simply loops around and comes back to the same spot. It doesn’t matter which direction you go first. If you keep left, you’ll come across a parking lot for the Backcountry Camping spots. We didn’t camp, but it sure sounds like a cool idea. Camping is closed indefinitely for the moment, but we’ll be looking out for a reopening.
There’s a picnic area just beyond the camping parking lot, but if you keep right at the loop, there are even more. Many of the picnic sites are covered from the sun. They have bathrooms as well. There is a Group Use Area that can be reserved for special events.
Alkali Flat Trail
This is another one of the best hiking opportunities in the park, along with the Dune Life Nature Trail. It’s all the way at the end of the loop, so it doesn’t matter which direction you take to get here. There is plenty of parking.
While the Dune Life Nature Trail had plants and some animals throughout the dunes (hence the “life” part of the name), Alkali Flat is truly barren and empty. The dunes are also taller. It’s just miles and miles of rolling, white, absolutely empty dunes, with the giant blue sky and distant mountains in the background. It is breathtaking and difficult to capture in a photo.
The “trail” is not super-easy to follow, but in total should be about five miles in length. It is considered strenuous due to the sand and the elevation changes going up and down dunes. In reality, people seem to hike all over the place near the parking lot.
We didn’t do the full trail loop, but we did go up to the top of some very tall dunes and get some amazing panoramic views. You will take hundreds of pictures here!
Sunset in White Sands National Park
The above basically covers the main attractions of the park. As you can probably tell, it’s a manageable national park to see in a day. But you might want to come back for one last view. This is why it’s a good idea to stay nearby in Alamogordo, because you may finish hiking and exploring too early to stay straight through for sunset.
If you time your visit for the right time of year, you can catch sunset in the park before it closes for the night. The rangers also host Sunset Strolls each evening. The colors produced in the desert sky are magnificent with the rolling white dunes below. The same goes for sunrise, but people tend to be less excited to get up at the crack of dawn for these views.
The sunset is definitely one of the best ways to see the park, and we highly recommend planning for this. You can also do Moonlight Hikes with the park rangers on certain dates, with schedules here.
Other Things to Do in Alamogordo, New Mexico
If you have the time, The Museum of Space History is a fitting stop in Alamogordo. It’s up on a hill in the eastern part of town and also has a nice view. Not many people realize that American rocket science was sort of born right there.
You can see real pieces of rockets and spacecraft equipment, learn about the science, and even pilot a moon landing simulator! We also paid our respects at the grave of Ham, the chimpanzee that was the first to be sent to orbit.
There are a few hikes around Alamogordo, including Indian Wells Canyon, which starts right by the space museum. Otherwise, take the drive up the mountains into the Lincoln National Forest. The dry New Mexico desert becomes a forested alpine paradise.
We combined this trip with Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The drive between Alamogordo and Carlsbad is less than 3 hours, so it is definitely doable. If we did it again, we would plan for two nights in Alamogordo so we could do daytime White Sands activities, then the space museum, and then go back to the park for sunset.
Conclusion
So, White Sands National Park is definitely worth it. One full day is enough, but plan to spend at least one night (if not two) to get the full experience. It’s a great weekend trip if you live close enough for that.
Since it’s not too far from Albuquerque, you might also consider pairing a day or two in Alamogordo with the International Balloon Fiesta if you will be there in October. That’s a great time to visit in terms of weather, too. The national parks of Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains are also great add-ons depending on the time you have.
We’ll go back to this place at some point for sure, and we’ll update our tips then!
Loved this guide? Don’t forget to pin it for later!
