White Sands National Park
Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world’s great natural wonders – the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the world’s largest gypsum dunefield. White Sands National Park preserves a major portion of this unique dunefield, along with the plants and animals that live here.
Approximately 12,000 years ago, the land within the Tularosa Basin featured large lakes, streams, grasslands, and Ice Age mammals. As the climate warmed, rain and snowmelt dissolved gypsum from the surrounding mountains and carried it into the basin.
White Sands National Park was originally designated a National Monument in 1933, then redesignated as a national park by Congress and signed into law December 20, 2019. It is the most visited park in New Mexico.
Places to Stay While Visiting White Sands
There are no lodging options inside the park. However, there are a few nearby towns that offer various hotels, resorts, and Airbnb/VRBO options.
- Alamogordo, NM (16 miles away)
- Boles Acres, NM (19 miles)
- Las Cruces, NM (52 miles)
- Timberon, NM (66 miles)
- El Paso, TX (95 miles)
VISIT White Sands National Park:
Park Details
White Sands National Park was established in .
| Address | |
|---|---|
| Phone | 575-479-6124 |
| Hours | All year except Christmas. Gates open at 7am every day, with closing depending on season (usually around dusk). |
| Entrance Fee | $25 per vehicle, valid for 7 days |
When to Visit: Weather vs. Peak Visitation
We crunched 30 years of historical weather and/or park service data to find the best months to visit White Sands National Park. We looked for the optimal temperatures, the least amount of snow and rain, and stayed away from peak visitation months if we could help it. All this data then helped us paint a picture as to what the absolute best time to visit White Sands National Park is.
Our data shows the best months to visit White Sands National Park are May, June, July & August.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park Visits | 45,053 | 35,766 | 98,118 | 78,723 | 85,197 | 72,891 | 86,436 | 51,453 | 47,151 | 63,669 | 56,410 | 61,602 |
| Precipitation | 15 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 18 | 52 | 53 | 33 | 23 | 16 | 23 |
| Avg Temp | 56 | 60 | 68 | 75 | 84 | 92 | 92 | 90 | 85 | 76 | 64 | 55 |
| Max Temp | 66 | 71 | 78 | 85 | 93 | 100 | 99 | 97 | 93 | 86 | 75 | 67 |
| Avg Temp | 37 | 39 | 43 | 48 | 57 | 66 | 70 | 70 | 63 | 54 | 43 | 37 |
| Min Temp | 26 | 27 | 29 | 34 | 42 | 56 | 63 | 63 | 51 | 38 | 28 | 24 |
White Sands National Park Road Trips
Many family vacations consist of stringing one or more national parks together during a week-long trip. Creating these types of trips is our specialty! Here are the road trips we've created where White Sands National Park is visited.
| Trip Name | Trip Miles | Trip Days |
|---|---|---|
| Continental Divide National Historic Trail RV Road Trip | 2,315 | 14 |
Other Nearby National Park Sites
From national monuments, to historic sites to seashores and more, here are the other parks closest to White Sands National Park.