It is hard to believe how many National Park sites have sand dunes — Great Sand Dunes, Guadalupe Mountains, Death Valley (with 2 separate dunes!), Indiana Dunes, the Mojave Preserve, and many more in National Monuments and other federal lands. We have been to so many of them that one of Joy Joy’s classmates thought she went to the beach every time they have a break at school when in fact we go to the dunes!
I originally visited White Sands as a kid, so it was nice to be able to return and bring the rest of the family who had never been before! Thirty or so years ago I was distracted by the newfangled stealth bombers flying over our heads but this time the scenery and threat of rain was all we could focus on.
These dunes are well deserving of the recent upgrade to National Park status (signed on December 20, 2019) as they protect just over 40% of the world’s largest gypsum dunefield that is otherwise part of the White Sands Missile Range. While we would have liked to get to tour the nearby Missile Range Museum to learn more about the testing that is performed here, it is really tough if you aren’t in the military.
We visited while on our Spring Break trip that included nearby Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains and this park is a reasonable drive from the home rentals we stayed at in either Carlsbad or El Paso and we stayed in both cities on our trip. Our original plan was to visit White Sands when going between the cities, but had to shuffle that because of scheduling our cavern tour. It worked just fine either way though!
So, what can you do in White Sands? A lot!! We chose to focus our time on hiking, but many come to sled and you can definitely either pack or purchase them here, just like at Great Sand Dunes. This park also caters well to a day trip as there are a ton of picnic shelters and places you can park and get out on the dunes. Bring those sand toys and the kids will have a blast!
Our unforgettable day in White Sands included the following activities:
Dune Life Nature Trail (1 mile; 1 hour)
If you want to get out in the dunes on an established trail this is the perfect way to do so! This 1 mile loop hike takes about an hour and is very family-friendly. There are signs for navigation that are easily visible so you won’t get lost and the informational signs are well designed to both educate and keep the kids engaged. This was a highlight of our visit as it felt unspoiled and natural and was fairly quiet in the morning. We wished we could have seen some wildlife but that was not in the cards for us.
The parking lot is fairly small but turns over pretty frequently and also has a separate area for campers and trailers. There are no restrooms at this trailhead. If you have sleds I’d continue on as there are many easier and better places to sled further into the park and it is not allowed in this area.
Interdune Boardwalk (0.4 miles; 20 minutes)
This is a fully accessible trail and perfect for strollers or wheelchairs. There are also some nice shade areas where I expect they do ranger talks and other activities. The views from this trail are interesting, especially when you get to see the mountains on the horizon. The parking area is large and there are no restrooms at this trailhead.
Playa Trail (0.5 mile; 30 minutes)
The Playa Trail is located across the road from the Dune Life Nature Trail (but with roadside parking rather than in the lot. This is a very easy and flat trail that brings you out to a point where you can look out on a playa, or dry lake bed. The view isn’t dramatically different at the end of the trail as it is from the start, so this trail is a good option if others are busy or you want to stretch your legs. There are no restrooms at this trailhead.
Driving Dunes Drive
The thing every visitor will do is drive Dunes Drive, the main park road. This 8 mile road is unique as the last 3 miles are unpaved and take you on a hard packed gypsum road that is safe for all vehicles as long as you stay on the actual road! We found the drive to be pretty and the area at the end after the 6 mile mark is huge and perfect for sledding, picnic lunches, and have a number of restrooms. You could truly spend the day out here playing in the sand and spread out from other visitors!
Camels
I know what you are thinking – there aren’t camels in White Sands! Actually, many Sunday afternoons there are. A local man brings his “pet” camel into the park (after all they allow horses, so it’s ok right!) and lets any and all visitors come and take photos with it. When we saw this camel up on a dune, we had to stop and see what was going on. The owner was a very kind and friendly man who shared some of his story with us. He also gave “Tots” $1,000,000! Ok, it was actually a $1,000,000 tract that shared the Good News of Jesus 🙂 It is always nice to see people sharing the gospel and being so kind-hearted about it!
So there you have it, this is all of what we did in White Sands National Park in 1 day and it was truly an unforgettable day!
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Is there a place to rent a dune buggy or off terrain vehicle to ride in the sand?
Not within White Sands itself, and a lot of the area around it is a military bombing range (or old one at least) so I’m not sure this would be the area I’d recommend doing so. Typically people just walk and play around parking areas.