We Visited All 63 U.S. National Parks

When visited:            November 6. 2021

Date Established:     December 20, 2019

Park ranking:            54 out of 63

Why to go:                 White desert sand

Why not to go:           If you don’t like sand

Our day in White Sands National Park in New Mexico was picture postcard weather – deep blue skies met the landscape of fresh white snow – although it wasn’t snow at all.  And despite the snowy feel, the temperature was warm.  We arrived at the Visitor Center and rented our saucers as we planned to “sled the dunes”.  We embarked on our journey to find the highest dune.

Sand dune at White Sands National Park

We marveled and the sculpted sand dunes – shaped by the wind into ripples that could be on an ocean.  With wispy, white clouds and a dark blue sky, the landscape was stunning.  We were amazed by the sand arcs left on the dunes where tall grass plants swayed and pushed the sand out of the way creating a near perfect arc.  White Sands National Park is the largest gypsum dune field in the world.

Sand arc from the Alkali Flat Trail

We traversed a couple of dunes and walked a mile out into the desert on the Alkali Flat Trail to escape the flow of the road and were impressed with the silence – the silence and the beauty and the need for sunglasses 😊  The Alkali Flats Trail is not flat – you need plenty of water and you must pay attention to look for the red stakes as trail markers – we decided we weren’t going to do the 4-5 mile loop but we wanted to get away from the road and experience the silence, the sand and the sky.

We traversed the entire Dunes Drive loop road and settled on dunes that were about 75 feet high I would guess.  The start was slow are required arm strength to get moving, but gravity took over and I slid down to the bottom. 

Dune sledding!

We also traversed the half mile Interdune boardwalk. We spent a few hours there overall– a little like what I did in Petrified Forest National Park.  But aside from coming back at night or early morning we had explored the small park quite well.  I imagine the park comes alive at night with insects, reptiles and animals (we saw many tracks!). And like most parks, the more time you spend in one, the more it gets into your soul and the more time you want to spend.

Note: White Sands can be closed due to nearby missile range testing and there are no lodging options in the park outside of campsites.