As I was coming up with my plan to hit Guadalupe Peak (TX State Highpoint) over Memorial Day Weekend, I realized that my driving route home would take me right by White Sands National Park. Even though I knew it would make for a very long day – I had an 9 hour drive home from El Paso already – I could not resist seeing such an otherworldly place.
Nestled in the Tularosa Valley of the Chihuahuan Desert in southern New Mexico, the park is surrounded by the mountains and plains that make up the White Sands Missile Range, a massive US military testing site. The park’s white sands are actually dissolved gypsum deposits – the largest gypsum dune field of its kind on the planet.
There’s a 5ish mile “trail” that makes a loop from the end of the paved road that goes through the park right to the boundary of the white sands missile range. I figured I could walk the loop in the an hour or two and get back on my long drive home.
From the second I pulled into the park; I could not believe my eyes. Bright white sand dunes as far as the eyes could see, surrounded by rugged, grey mountain ranges. The road through the park carves its way directly through the dunes – huge piles of sand lining the roadway on either side. A couple miles in, the paved section ends, and you drive right on the sand the remainder of the road into the heart of the dune field.
The trail was beautiful and quite easy. There are “markers” to help guide you along the route, but you don’t need to follow them directly and can go up and down whatever dunes your heart desires. There are even some beautiful hidden trees and bushes among the dunes to explore – no idea how they even grow here!
I was lucky enough to find a sand sled that someone had left at the trailhead – which I circled back around for and took on a thrilling ride down some of the taller dunes. This is a very popular park activity both here and at Great Sand Dunes National Park – I highly recommend!
From the parks website: “Waxed plastic snow saucers work best and can be rented or purchased at the park’s gift shop. You may also bring your own sleds. Choose a dune with a gently sloping face and a level run-off at the end so that you can come to a halt safely. Be aware of where the dune slope meets the desert floor. While the dune sand is soft, the area at the base of the dune can be very hard, and unintentional injuries are surprisingly common. Make sure the sledding path does not cross the roadway or parking areas and is free from hazards such as vegetation, hard clumps of sand, or other obstructions“
