We’ve hiked the gypsum dunes of White Sands National Park at sunset, when the low light turns the sand from blinding white to gold to a soft pink. It is one of the strangest, most beautiful landscapes in the national park system, 275 square miles of wave-like dunes sitting inside the Tularosa Basin in southern New Mexico. After spending real time here, we put together this honest, ranked guide to the best things to do in White Sands National Park, with the logistics you actually need to plan a good visit.
White Sands is small and easy to navigate, which means you can pack a lot into a single day. The entire visitor experience runs off one road, the eight-mile Dunes Drive, so the activities below are organized roughly from the front of the park to the back, with the dune-field adventures at the heart of the list. For the bigger picture, see our guide to New Mexico’s national parks and our roundup of White Sands facts.
At a Glance: 15 Things to Do in White Sands
| Activity | Type | Effort / Time | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hike Alkali Flat Trail | Hike | 5 mi loop, strenuous, 2-3 hrs | Early morning |
| Go sand sledding | Active | Easy, 1-2 hrs | Anytime |
| Catch the Sunset Stroll | Ranger program | 1 mi, easy, 1 hr | Evening |
| Watch sunrise from a dune | Scenic | Easy, 1 hr | Dawn |
| Walk the Interdune Boardwalk | Accessible | 0.4 mi, easy, 30 min | Anytime |
| Hike Dune Life Nature Trail | Hike | 1 mi loop, easy, 45 min | Morning |
| Drive the Dunes Drive | Scenic drive | 16 mi round trip, 1 hr+ | Late afternoon |
| Join a Full Moon program | Event | Easy, 1-2 hrs | Full moon nights |
| Take a Lake Lucero tour | Ranger tour | Moderate, 3 hrs | Cool months |
| Hike the Playa Trail | Hike | 0.5 mi, easy, 30 min | Anytime |
| Picnic in the dunes | Relaxed | Easy | Midday or sunset |
| Explore the backcountry | Backpacking | 2 mi loop, moderate | Cool months |
| Look for white wildlife | Wildlife | Easy | Dusk / dawn |
| See the Historic District | History | Easy | Anytime |
| Pull over for cloud and sky watching | Scenic | Easy | Evening |
1. Hike the Alkali Flat Trail
This is the signature hike of White Sands and the first one to do. The Alkali Flat Trail is a roughly five-mile loop that climbs over the tallest dunes in the park and out to the edge of an ancient dried lakebed, with panoramic views of the gypsum field running to the San Andres Mountains. It is marked by red posts rather than a worn path, because the dunes shift, so keep the next marker in sight at all times. Distance: about 5 miles. Difficulty: strenuous, soft sand the whole way. Time: 2 to 3 hours. Best time: start early in the morning before the heat, and carry far more water than you think you need. There is no shade and no water on the trail.
2. Go Sand Sledding
Sliding down a gypsum dune on a waxed plastic saucer is the most fun you can have in the park, and it is genuinely good for all ages. The catch is that gypsum is not slippery like snow, so an ordinary sled will not work. Buy a round saucer sled at the gift shop near the entrance for around $25, or bring your own saucer-style sled, and pick up a block of wax to keep the base fast. Any of the steeper, road-side dunes work, but walk a few minutes deeper into the dune field to find untracked slopes and fewer people. See the park’s sledding page for current sled and wax availability. Effort: easy. Time: as long as you want.
Love White Sands? It's one of 117 threatened public lands destinations we're tracking. Get the free briefing.
3. Catch the Ranger-Led Sunset Stroll
The Sunset Stroll is the best free program in the park and the easiest way to understand what you are walking on. A ranger leads a roughly one-mile, one-hour walk into the dunes timed to end as the sun drops, covering the geology, plants, and animals of the gypsum field while the light does its thing. It runs most evenings, but times shift with sunset and seasons, so check the schedule at the visitor center or the park’s event calendar the day you go. Meet at the Sunset Stroll parking area near the end of Dunes Drive. Effort: easy.
4. Watch Sunrise From the Top of a Dune
If the gates are open early enough for your visit, climbing a tall dune for sunrise is the quietest, most memorable hour you will spend here. The first light turns the white sand soft pink and the long shadows make the dune ridges read like a topographic map. Note that the park does not open at dawn most of the year, so check the day’s operating hours before you plan a sunrise. If you cannot get in early, sunset delivers the same color with reliable access. Effort: easy. Time: about an hour.
5. Walk the Interdune Boardwalk
For families, anyone with mobility needs, or a quick introduction, the Interdune Boardwalk is the move. It is a flat, accessible elevated boardwalk of about 0.4 miles round trip with interpretive signs explaining how the dunes form and how plants and animals survive out here. It is the only fully accessible trail in the park. Distance: 0.4 miles. Difficulty: easy. Time: 30 minutes.
6. Hike the Dune Life Nature Trail
This one-mile loop sits in the vegetated edge of the dune field, where mesquite and soaptree yucca have anchored small hills of sand. It is the best short hike for spotting tracks and learning the ecology before the dunes go fully barren deeper in. Look for the cartoon kit fox signs that mark the route. Distance: 1 mile loop. Difficulty: easy with a couple of short climbs. Time: 45 minutes.
7. Drive the Dunes Drive
The eight-mile Dunes Drive is the spine of the park and the only road in. The first few miles are paved, then it turns to packed gypsum that any car can handle in dry conditions. Pull-offs let you stop and walk out into the sand wherever it looks good, and the far end opens onto the deepest dunes and the trailheads for Alkali Flat and the backcountry loop. Drive it slowly late in the afternoon and you will end up at the best dunes right as the light gets good. Distance: 16 miles round trip. Time: an hour or more with stops.
8. Join a Full Moon Program
On nights around the full moon, the park stays open late and hosts evening programs that range from ranger talks to live music, and the dunes glow under the moonlight in a way that is hard to describe and easy to love. These are seasonal and ticketed for some events, so check the park’s calendar and reserve ahead when required. Effort: easy. Time: 1 to 2 hours.
9. Take a Ranger-Led Lake Lucero Tour
Lake Lucero is the source of the dunes, the dry lakebed where selenite crystals form and slowly break down into the gypsum sand that builds the whole field. You can only reach it on a ranger-led tour, offered on a limited schedule in the cooler months and requiring advance reservation through the park. It is a caravan drive followed by a moderate walk onto the playa, about three hours total, and it is the single best way to understand why this place exists. Check the park’s event calendar for dates and booking.
10. Hike the Playa Trail
The Playa Trail is a quick half-mile out-and-back near the start of Dunes Drive that leads to a small playa, a shallow basin that fills with water after rain and otherwise sits dry and cracked. It is an easy leg-stretcher with good interpretive signs about the basin’s water cycle. Distance: 0.5 miles. Difficulty: easy. Time: 30 minutes.
11. Pack a Picnic in the Dunes
The park has covered picnic areas with distinctive curved metal shade shelters set right among the dunes, and they are some of the most photogenic picnic spots anywhere. Bring everything you need, including water, since there are no food services inside the park. Eating dinner here as the sun goes down, then walking up a dune for the color, is a perfect low-effort evening.
12. Explore the Backcountry Loop
The Backcountry Camping Loop is a two-mile trail deep into the dunes that gives you solitude within a short walk. Note that backcountry camping has been closed for an extended period for safety review, so confirm the current status with the visitor center before counting on an overnight. As a day hike the loop is still open and well worth it for the silence and the untracked sand. Distance: about 2 miles. Difficulty: moderate. Best in the cooler months.
13. Look for the Park’s White Wildlife
Several animals here have evolved pale coloring to blend into the gypsum, including the bleached earless lizard and the Apache pocket mouse. You are most likely to see life at dawn and dusk and along the vegetated edges of the dune field rather than the barren core. Bring patience and look for tracks in the sand, which tell the story even when the animals stay hidden.
14. See the Historic District
Near the entrance, the White Sands National Monument Historic District preserves the original 1930s Pueblo Revival buildings built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, including the adobe visitor center that still serves the park today. It is a quick, worthwhile stop to understand how this landscape went from monument to national park, and the gift shop here is where you buy your sled.
15. Pull Over for the Sky
This one is simple and we mean it. The combination of white ground, big basin, and clean desert air makes White Sands one of the best places we know to just stop and watch the sky, whether that is towering monsoon thunderheads in summer or a sky full of stars after dark. Park at any pull-off late in the day, walk a short way from the road, and let the place work on you.
Planning Your Visit: Know Before You Go (2026)
- Entrance fee: White Sands charges a per-vehicle fee (around $25 for a 7-day pass) and accepts the America the Beautiful interagency pass. Check the current rate on the NPS fees page.
- Hours and closures: The park does not open at dawn most of the year, and it occasionally closes for a few hours with little notice because it sits beside White Sands Missile Range. Always check the day’s hours before driving out.
- Reservations: No entry reservation is needed, but the Lake Lucero tour and some full-moon events require advance booking through the park. Backcountry camping remains closed for safety review as of 2026, so confirm before planning an overnight.
- Best time to visit: Fall and spring are ideal. Summer days are brutally hot, though monsoon storms make for dramatic skies; winter is cold but quiet and beautiful.
- What to bring: Far more water than you expect, sun protection, and closed shoes for hot sand. There is no food or fuel inside the park, so stock up in Alamogordo, about 15 miles away.
- Stay safe: Carry water on every dune walk, follow the red trail markers, and never go off marked trails near Alkali Flat, where the missile range boundary and warning signs must be obeyed.
Keep Exploring White Sands
For everything else on planning a trip, visit our White Sands National Park hub, dig into our White Sands facts guide, or browse our wider coverage of New Mexico’s national parks. You can also watch our cinematic national park films at the More Than Just Parks films library.
What to Bring to White Sands
Gear we recommend for White Sands. Affiliate links support our work at no cost to you.
More Than Just Parks may earn a small commission from purchases made through these links, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend gear we would actually use.
Affiliate disclosure: Some links on this page earn us a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend gear we actually use.
