And you can see why it was recently upgraded from a national monument to a national park. The park does frequently have closures and amended hours due to missile tests at the nearby White Sands Missile Range. report. 2. It's one of my favorite places. White Sands' entrance fee is $20 per vehicle, $10 per person, $15 per motorcycle, and $40 for an annual pass. White Sands is a 275 square mile dunefield that is so large it can be seen from space! White Sands National Park is America's newest national park, established on December 20, 2019. The most popular trail is Alkali Flat Trail. The Visitor Center is open daily from 9:00am to 5:00pm. Not only does the park protect a massive area of sand dunes, the dunes there are snow white. These trails range from 0.1 to 6.9 miles in length. White Sands National Park is located in southern New Mexico, on the north side of U.S. Route 70. The human tracks at White Sands National Park record more than 1.5 km (0.93 miles) of an out- and-return journey. There are only ten permits available each day to camp out between the dunes, but the experience is unlike any other. While many national monuments and parks will, at best, tolerate your dog if they have to and, at worst, ban them altogether, White Sands has devoted an entire page of its website to wooing four-legged companions — complete with a super corny photo that just might be Billy the Kid walking off into the sunset with a Boston Terrier. White Sands National Park surprised me. The most popular trail is Alkali Flat Trail. The Alkali Flat Trail is a great way to experience the grandeur of White Sands National Park. The most common hiking trails are Dune Life Nature Trail, Backcountry Camping Trail, Alkali Flat Trail, and Playa Trail. This post has been updated to reflect the new National Park status. The park is located in New Mexico, about 180 miles from Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico’s other national park. Each trail is marked by a symbol from a deck of cards so that you can tell. Made up of gypsum rather than quartz-based crystals, which is what most dunes are made from, the endless sea of white will trick you into thinking you’re at the North Pole … Visitors to White Sands National Monument can take a scenic 8 … White Sands National Park offers a variety of ways for you to explore the beautiful dunes. All park ranger led programs are canceled and back country camping at White Sands National Park is not allowed until further notice. The White Sands Missile Range, site of the first nuclear explosion, surrounds the park, which occasionally closes for a few hours during missile testing. They show the footprints of a … Photograph by Tira Howard. In fact, we headed there on our El Paso to Phoenix road trip. The park offers lots of activities for different age groups. White Sands is the perfect road trip destination. Trails can be on sand or boardwalk at White Sands National Park. White Sands National Park, formerly White Sands National Monument, became the 62nd US National Park on December 20, 2019. White Sands National Park is one of the dazzling gems in New Mexico, that one must experience during their visit to the state. Hiking in the sand dunes and sledding are most popular of them. White Sands National Monument is open daily from 7:00am to 6:00pm. You can choose between trails that are from a half-mile to five miles. White Sands National Park is located in south-central New Mexico right about the most western point of Texas, United States.The national park encompasses an area of 224.58 square miles (581.67 sq km). save. White Sands National Park has a variety of hiking trails for all levels of difficulty. The main two trails are backcountry camping trail (2-mile round-trip, moderate), Alkali flat trail (5-mile round trip, strenuous). 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