A surreal white sea of gypsum dunes you can drive into and sled down.
Photo: dconvertini · CC BY-SA 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Few American landscapes are as otherworldly as White Sands: 275 square miles of brilliant, blinding-white gypsum sand rolling to the horizon in New Mexico's Tularosa Basin — the largest gypsum dunefield on Earth. Gypsum is common worldwide but almost never forms sand, which makes this rippling white sea genuinely one of a kind. (It was redesignated from a national monument to White Sands National Park on December 20, 2019 — the country's 62nd national park.)
The joy of it is simple and tactile: people sled the dunes on waxed plastic saucers, drive the 8-mile Dunes Drive into the heart of the field, and linger for sunsets that turn the sand pink and gold. Short walks branch off the first few miles of the road; the strenuous Alkali Flat Trail runs 5 miles round trip from the far end of the drive, deep into the dune sea toward an ancient dry lakebed. Every trail is marked only by colored posts sunk in the sand, so it is easy to lose your way when the wind picks up.
Two gotchas shape a visit. The park is wrapped by the active White Sands Missile Range, and Dunes Drive closes for up to three hours during tests — staff usually get about two weeks' notice, but sometimes only a day, and US-70 west toward Las Cruces can close with it. And there are no services past the visitor center, so bring plenty of water. The best months are October through May; summer middays are simply hot.
A safety corridor is in force on Dunes Drive between mile 3 and mile 5.5: you may drive through, but not stop, park or step out, and the ground south of the road is closed to foot traffic. The Interdune Boardwalk is closed. Dunes Drive itself is open end to end, and the Dune Life Nature Trail, the Playa Trail and the Alkali Flat Trail are unaffected.
Last checked August 10, 2026There is no other national park where the road closes because the military is firing missiles. White Sands sits inside White Sands Missile Range, and when a test is scheduled Dunes Drive shuts for up to three hours — sometimes US-70 with it. Staff usually get two weeks' notice, sometimes only twenty-four hours. Everything else here is easy — sixteen miles of driving, half of it on packed gypsum — but that one thing will decide your day.
The park entrance is directly off the highway, 15 miles from Alamogordo and 52 from Las Cruces. Missile tests can also close the western half of this run, over San Augustin Pass toward Las Cruces, so a test can strand you on the wrong side of the range with a long detour.
Eight miles in, eight miles back: four paved, then four of packed gypsum sand graded smooth. Any ordinary car manages it; the surface simply turns white and then everything else does too. One catch — between mile 3 and mile 5.5 a safety corridor bars stopping, parking or getting out.
The road starts as ordinary asphalt through scrubby desert and then the vegetation stops and the surface turns to hard-packed white sand between dunes that shift across it. Crews grade it constantly; it is the only road most visitors will ever drive on a surface like it.
TipGo late. The last hour of light is when the dunes stop being flat and get their shape back. Closing time moves with the season, so check the day's hours and leave yourself room to drive the eight miles back out.
When White Sands Missile Range schedules a test, Dunes Drive closes, and US-70 toward Las Cruces sometimes closes with it. Staff are usually told about two weeks out and post the dates, but notice can come as late as the day before.
TipCheck the park's closure page the morning you travel, not the week before. If a test lands on your only day, the alternative is a long way around the range.
The signature activity — slide the firm dune faces on a waxed plastic saucer.
Insider tipRent or buy a plastic snow saucer and a bar of wax at the park gift shop by the visitor center; used sleds are cheaper and the shop buys them back. Cardboard and flat sleds don't slide. Pick a dune with a clear, level run-out, and note that sledding is closed around the Interdune Boardwalk area — it is allowed everywhere else in the park.
Plan a trip to this spot →The only road into the dunefield — an 8-mile drive from the entrance into the heart of the white sand, with pullouts, picnic shelters, and trailheads.
Insider tipThe first four miles are paved and the last four are hard-packed gypsum, graded smooth and fine for any car; the 16-mile round trip takes about 45 minutes without stops. Between mile 3 and mile 5.5 a safety corridor is in force — you can drive through, but not stop, park or step out.
Plan a trip to this spot →Heads upClosed. The boardwalk falls inside the Dunes Drive safety corridor (mile 3 to mile 5.5), shut until further notice after a US Air Force mishap in the park. Sledding is closed around it too.
A 0.4-mile elevated boardwalk with interpretive panels, 4.5 miles up Dunes Drive — fully accessible to wheelchairs and strollers, and about a 20-minute stroll.
Insider tipThe boardwalk and the ground around it sit inside the Dunes Drive safety corridor. The Playa Trail and the Dune Life Nature Trail, both in the first three miles of the drive, are the other short walks.
Plan a trip to this spot →The marquee hike — 5 miles round trip from the end of Dunes Drive, deep into the dune sea to the edge of an ancient dry lakebed. Rated strenuous; figure three to four hours.
Insider tipRed diamond posts are the only markers, and wind knocks them down — if you can't see the next one, turn back. No shade, no water and no restroom out there, and rangers ask you not to start once it reaches 85°F.
Plan a trip to this spot →A 1-mile loop introducing the plants and animals adapted to the gypsum — a good family-friendly first walk on the sand.
Insider tipThe second trailhead on Dunes Drive, 2.5 miles in, so it is before the no-stopping corridor. Blue club-symbol posts mark the loop; two steep dune climbs make it moderate rather than easy, and it takes about an hour.
Plan a trip to this spot →Sunset turns the white field pink and gold — the iconic photo moment — and rangers lead a free hour-long sunset stroll on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, first come, first served. It meets at the signed pullout 8 miles up Dunes Drive and pauses through July and August for heat and monsoon storms.
Insider tipFull Moon Nights, monthly from May through October, simply hold the park open until 11 pm on your entrance fee. The ranger-led moonlight hikes and the Lake Lucero tour are different: those are ticketed in advance on Recreation.gov and sell out.
Plan a trip to this spot →High Chihuahuan Desert (~4,000 ft): hot summers averaging around 97°F, mild winters, a big day-night swing, and about 330 clear days a year, with a monsoon from early July into October. Spring is notoriously windy with blowing sand. A key comfort note — the white gypsum reflects heat and stays cool underfoot where dark sand would burn, but the air is still punishing at midday, so walk early or late and carry far more water than you think you need. Best months: October through May.
One entrance off US-70 — but the missile range can close the road into the dunes for a few hours.
Fifteen miles southwest of Alamogordo on US-70, on the north side of the highway; $25 per vehicle for seven days. The park opens at 7 am daily and closes at a time that shifts with the season, and it shuts only on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Dunes Drive closes for up to three hours during White Sands Missile Range tests, sometimes announced only about 24 hours ahead, and US-70 west toward Las Cruces can close with it — check the park's closure page the morning you travel, or call the range's highway line at 575-678-1178. There is no water or fuel past the visitor center: fill up and bring your own.
No lodging and no campground inside the park — backcountry camping is closed for site rehabilitation with no reopening date, so stay in a nearby town.
The closest base (~15 min), with the full range of hotels, dining, and gas — and the New Mexico Museum of Space History.
Booking tipThe practical home base.
A larger city about an hour southwest on US-70, with more lodging and dining.
Booking tipA good base if you're coming from the west.
A cool pine-forest mountain town (~50 min up US-82, ~8,700 ft) for a dramatic climate contrast.
Booking tipA scenic alternative escape from the desert heat.
Is it a national park or a monument?
It's a national park — White Sands National Park since December 2019, when Congress redesignated the former White Sands National Monument (established 1933).
What's the entrance fee?
$25 per private vehicle, good for 7 days ($20 motorcycle, $15 per person on foot or bike; under 16 free). A White Sands annual pass is $45, and the $80 America the Beautiful pass is accepted. No timed entry or advance reservation is required to get in.
Can I go sledding?
Yes — it's the top activity. Rent or buy a plastic snow saucer and wax at the park gift shop by the visitor center (or bring your own), wax the bottom, and find a dune face with a clear run-out at the base. It's allowed almost everywhere in the park; the exception is the ground around the Interdune Boardwalk.
Will missile testing close the park?
It can. Dunes Drive closes for up to three hours during White Sands Missile Range tests, and US-70 between the park and Las Cruces sometimes closes too. Staff are usually told about two weeks out and post the dates, but notice can arrive only 24 hours ahead — check the park's closure page the morning you travel, or call the range's highway line at 575-678-1178.
When should I go?
October through May for mild weather. In summer, drive in early or come for the last hours of light — rangers ask hikers not to start a dune trail at 85°F or above. Spring is very windy.
How do I not get lost on the dunes?
On the open dunes, landmarks vanish. The park's five trails are marked by colored posts sunk in the sand, and wind knocks them over — stay on the trail, keep the next post in sight, and turn back the moment you can't. Carry far more water than you think you'll need; there is no water and no shade out there.
Pick your vehicle, line up the stops on the way in and out, and carry the whole route in your pocket.
