Review of White Sands National Park: A must visit national park in New Mexico full of wonder and awe!

 

White Sands National Park, New Mexico 

When I was researching which national parks to visit during my wife and myself’s cross country trip going from North Carolina to California, I knew White Sands National Park would be one of those.  The decision came after being mesmerized by a photo of the park with the whitest sand against a backdrop of the bluest sky.  

It felt totally alien with its vast fields of sand stretching endlessly, in the middle of nowhere.  It felt like a set from a science fiction movie, full of mystery and desolation.  We had to pick this park as one of our destinations!

On the morning of December 20th, we checked out of our hotel in Carlsbad (NM), and headed for White Sands National Park.  The drive would take about 3 hours, going slightly northwest.  We would drive over  changing landscape of flat deserts to rising mountain peaks as we got closer to our destination.  

It was jarring to see snow covered fields where cattle roam, all of a sudden.  We felt the elevation rise with every mile we drove on.  We saw more and more snow as elevation reached over 5000 feet.  We marveled at the changing scenery when we reached the peak of the mountain and was rewarded with some of the most spectacular views anywhere!

What a view…



By the time we arrived at the town of Alamogordo, it was nearing 1 p.m., so we stopped to eat at an Applebees in town.  We enjoyed a hearty burger and a salmon entree, preparing our bodies for a good hike to come.  Afterwards, we would drive under 15 minutes to arrive at the visitor center at White Sands National Park.

White Sands National Park is truly like no place on Earth, with its 275 square miles of white glistening gypsum sand, creating the world’s largest gypsum dunefield.  We stopped at the visitor center for a quick pit stop before driving onto the scenic Dunes Drive. 

Visitor center, White Sands National Park



It was close to 1 p.m., and the park was fairly busy with cars (and RV’s) getting ready to pay the fee at the entrance station.  Lucky for us, our handy America the Beautiful Pass saved us $25.  We were so glad we purchased the pass in June!

We decided to do some hiking rather than driving all the way to the end of the Dunes Drive, as we weren’t sure how busy the parking lots are at that time of the day.  We headed for the Dune Life Nature Trail located about 5 minutes from the entrance station.

Parking lot looked packed, but we managed to find a spot between two cars.  After parking, we put on our hiking boots then started towards the trail.  It was a beautiful day with blue skies and a bit of cloud.  We couldn’t have asked for a better day.


Dune Life Nature Trail, view from the bottom of the sand dune

We hiked up the small sand dune directly ahead of us then stopped when we got to the top of the dune.  The views were magnificent.  The incredibly expansive views, with distant mountains and blue skies that seem to go on forever, beckoned us to explore more.  It was, in short, a scenery typical on the West Coast or the Southwest.  We loved it!

Dune Life Nature Trail, White Sands National Park
View of the parking lot where we parked


We followed the signs for the trail itself, and started walking.  We did notice other hikers haphazardly walking any which way once the trail started.  Luckily, the trail is kind of easy to navigate as there are well marked signs everywhere along the trail.  We, on the other hand, decided to stick to the trail for the most part, occasionally drifting off to see something of interest.





Even though it was the middle of December, the sun was hot, as park is still in the middle of a desert.  We were glad we brought bottled waters as usual, as we needed them frequently.  With temperatures hitting only about 50 degrees, you wouldn’t think it’d be hot, but it was.

The Dune Life Nature Trail is only about a mile long, and we completed it within about 40 minutes.  Walking on sand, as you all know, is definitely not easy.  What should take about 20-30 minutes, took much longer…No worries though, as we didn’t mind at all.  

Like I always say, we have plenty of time on our hands since early retirement.  We don’t need to hurry to see a place, as we no longer need to get home to get ready for work the following week.  This is definitely one of the best perks of being retired…

We got back into our car after completing our walk on Dune Life Nature Trail, then headed to our next destination: Interdune Boardwalk.  As we were arriving at the Interdune Boardwalk, one thing became absolutely clear:  any time a bunch of cars are parked at a national park parking lot for a trail or observation area, it usually equals a good place to stop by.  This semi-truth is mostly true as least in our experience…

We found plenty of parked cars at this attraction, so we did the same.  We started walking on the boardwalk as soon as we finished parking.  To our left, we saw several kids riding sleds off of sand dunes, having the time of their lives.  On the boardwalk, we saw many photographers doing their thing to capture just the right image for their collection.

We stopped to do the same thing, and it was awesome.  We loved looking at the whitest sand and just feeling like we were visiting another world…

View from the Interdune Boardwalk, White Sands National Park




As we needed to get to our hotel in the city of Albuquerque, hopefully before sunset, we got moving again.  We wanted to walk the sand dunes at the end of Dunes Drive, near the Alkali Flat Trail and the West Filming Area.  

We drove on what felt and looked like a snow covered road as we got near those attractions.  There was the usual snow embankment on each side of the road, and the road was covered with the white stuff.  It took some mental adjustments to tell ourselves that this is not snow, but rather sand!

Dunes Drive with snow (I mean sand) and snow (sand) embankments!



We parked near those two attractions and walked on the dunes like many people were doing.  It was a fantastic sight, with impossibly beautiful sand dunes and mountains in the distance.  It definitely made us realize how small we really are, in the grand scheme of things…



What an awesome national park, and a national treasure!  It made us realize how lucky we are, once again, to know we’re able to enjoy these incredible places in the United States.  National parks are quite possibly the most important national treasure of the United States…

In conclusion:

Even though our visit to the White Sands National Park was brief, we still got the experience of a lifetime.  We got to see some of the most surreal and beautiful places ever.  We will never forget the white sands that felt like we were on an alien planet…

We highly recommend visiting White Sands National Park when planning your trip to the American southwest.  It is a place full of wonder, beauty, and solitude…

We thank you for reading and come with us on our epic cross country journey going from North Carolina to California, with plenty of stops along the way.


Jake

Wandering Money Pig 


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