White Sands National Monument Parks and Outdoors Travel Guide

White Sands National Monument Parks and Outdoors Travel Guide

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Parks and Outdoors Destinations Near White Sands National Monument

Travel Guides Near White Sands National Monument

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Dunes in White Sands National Monument, New Mexico
White Sands National Monument, New Mexico (courtesy, New Mexico Tourism)
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White Sands National Monument Parks and Outdoors Travel Tips

By Steve Metzger
  • The largest gypsum dune field in the world, White Sands National Monument occupies 300 square miles of soft white sand with dunes that rise and change in the prevailing winds. The monument is surrounded by the desert of the Tularosa Basin and is flanked by the Sacramento and San Andres mountain ranges. The visitor center, at the beginning of the 16-mile loop through the park, offers a fascinating introduction to the formation and history of the dunes, as well as to the plants and animals that live among them: spadefoot toads, hognose snakes, kangaroo rats, Cactus Wrens, ocotillo, cholla, and yucca.
  • Camping in the park is allowed only at the one primitive backcountry campsite about a mile from the main road. A permit and clearance from park headquarters are required.
  • The 180-acre Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, named for a 19th century cattle baron, is just east of White Sands and 12 miles south of Alamogordo. Set in a box canyon where Mescalero Apaches once fought the U.S. Cavalry, the park has tent and RV sites as well as a small visitor center.
  • At the remote Aguirre Springs Campground on the east side of the Organ Mountains you'll find sites with picnic tables, fire rings, grills, and pit toilets. The Pine Tree and Baylor Pass trails start here. Area visitors over the years have included a number of famous and infamous westerners, including Pancho Villa and Billy the Kid. Take Highway 70 east from Las Cruces and watch for the signs.

White Sands National Monument Travel Guide

Arguably the most memorable natural area in this part of the Southwest, White Sands National Monument preserves the best part of the world's largest gypsum dune field, an area of 275 square miles of pure white gypsum sand reaching out over the floor of the Tularosa Basin in wavelike dunes. Plants and animals have evolved in special ways to adapt to the bright white environment here. Some creatures have a bleached coloration to match the whiteness all around them, and some plants have evolved means for surviving against the smothering pressures of the blowing sands. Read More

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Hotels

Oliver Lee Memorial State Park

409 Dog Canyon Rd.
Alamogordo, NM 88310-9496 Map

Distance: 23.3 mi.
(from destination center)

Hotel Class: Not Yet Rated
expert favorite hotel
Expert Rated & Recommended
5.0
from: $94

Hampton Inn Alamogordo

1295 Hamilton Road
Alamogordo, NM 88310 Map

Distance: 22.8 mi.
(from destination center)

Hotel Class: 3 class stars

Expert Rated & Recommended
3.0
from: $76

Quality Inn Alamogordo

1401 S. White Sands Blvd
Alamogordo, NM 88310 Map

Distance: 22.9 mi.
(from destination center)

Hotel Class: 2 class stars

Expert Rated & Recommended
3.0
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Attractions

Las Cruces Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum

expert favorite attraction
4100 Dripping Springs Rd.
Las Cruces, New Mexico 88011

Distance: 39.5 mi. (from destination center)

Description: Forty-seven-acre Las Cruces Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum is a tribute to New Mexico's farming and ranching history. Watch a cow being milked, visit with livestock, and roam the gardens.... Read More
Expert Rated & Recommended
4_0

Las Cruces Museum of Natural History

Mesilla Valley Mall
700 S. Telshor
Las Cruces, New Mexico

Distance: 39.4 mi. (from destination center)

Description:

This small city-funded museum offers a variety of exhibits, changed quarterly, that emphasize... Read More

Expert Rated & Recommended
4_0

Sierra Blanca Mountain

Lincoln National Forest and Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation
3463 Las Palomas Rd.
Alamogordo, New Mexico 88310

Distance: 119.1 mi. (from destination center)

Description: From July to early October, Sierra Blanca Mountain is usually snow-free, and in fall, often... Read More
Expert Rated & Recommended
4_0
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Airports

Major Airports near White Sands National Monument

Distance (mi.)
El Paso International Airport 66.9 map
Albuquerque International Airport 158.7 map
Tucson International Airport 273.2 map

Other Smaller Airports near White Sands National Monument

Distance (mi.)
Alamogordo Municipal Airport 19.9 map
Las Cruces Municipal Airport 47.6 map
Ciudad Juarez International Abraham Gonzalez Airport 76.3 map

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