White Sands National Park
Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the world's largest gypsum dunefield. White Sands National Park preserves a major portion of this unique dunefield, along with the plants and animals that live here.
Alerts
- ClosureNPS ↗Dunes Drive Safety Corridor
Dunes Drive is open. A safety corridor is in effect between mile marker 3 and 5.5 along Dunes Drive. Visitors may drive but not stop or exit their vehicle in this area.
- InformationBackcountry Camping Closed
Backcountry camping at the park is closed. There is no established opening date at this time.
- InformationInterdune Boardwalk Closed
Due to the active safety corridor, the Interdune Boardwalk is closed. Please visit the park visitor center to learn about other options during your visit.
- InformationNPS ↗Park Closures
From time to time the missile range that surrounds the park performs military testing that may require the closure of the park or Highway 70. Please plan your visit around upcoming military tests.
- InformationRV and Tractor Trailer Parking at the Visitor Center
There is limited space for parking for recreational vehicles and trailers in the parking lot directly in front (south) of the visitor center. RVs are asked to not park in the lot behind the visitor center. There is no parking space for tractor trailers.
Fees & passes
| Type | Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Private VehiclePer vehicle fee is charged to visitors for entry by a single, private non-commercial vehicle. Entrance fees are valid for reentry for seven consecutive days from the date of purchase. | $25 | |
| Per PersonPer person fee is charged to visitors for entry by means other than a single, private non-commercial vehicle. This includes, but is not limited to, individuals who enter the park by walking and bicycling. Entrance fees are valid for reentry for seven consecutive days from the date of purchase. | $15 | |
| MotorcycleValid for 7 days. Admits up to 2 private, non-commercial motorcycles with up to 4 total passengers. | $20 | |
| Commercial tours · by vehicle capacity | ||
| VanCommercial bus/van tours are charged a flat rate based on the capacity of the vehicle (not the number of persons on board). | $50 | |
| Mini-busCommercial bus/van tours are charged a flat rate based on the capacity of the vehicle (not the number of persons on board). | $60 | |
| Motor CoachCommercial bus/van tours are charged a flat rate based on the capacity of the vehicle (not the number of persons on board). | $150 | |
| Passes | ||
| Annual Entrance - ParkThis pass admits the pass holder and three persons (16 years and older) in a private non-commercial vehicle into the park for free for a period of one year from month of purchase. It can only be purchased at the entrance station to White Sands National Park. This pass does not apply to special use fees, such as camping and interpretive program fees. | $45 | |
White Sands National Park charges a variety of fees, depending on how a visitor arrives at the park, and whether they're part of a commercial tour group or not. Standard entrance fees are available for purchase before your arrival. Purchasing your pass online can help you save time and the entrance stations and help reduce long lines.
Hours
| Standard Park Hours | Daily · 7:00AM - Sunset |
Hours by date. Standard hours apply on every date not listed.
| Dates | Hours |
|---|---|
| Standard hoursNow | 7:00AM - Sunset |
| Nov 26, 2026Thanksgiving Day | Closed |
| Dec 25, 2026Christmas Day | Closed |
| May 22 to Sep 7, 2027Summer Hours | 7:00AM - Sunset |
When to go
March draws the most visits here and February the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Campgrounds
| Backcountry Camping ↗ | 10 sites | |
| $3 a night · 10 first-come | ||
Every campground here has its own page on Campsite Atlas, with site counts, hookups, rig limits and booking windows. How park camping works
Visitor centers
- White Sands Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
The visitor center was built in 1936 and is part of the historic district at White Sands. Inside you will find the park store as well as the museum for the park.
Explore
Things to do
- Sledding at the Roadrunner Picnic Area
The Roadrunner Picnic area is an excellent place to go sledding with friends and family at White Sands National Park.
Opens on the Park Service site - Hiking the Ice Age Trail45-60 Minutes
This level, family-friendly trail interprets the Ice Age history of the Tularosa Basin
Opens on the Park Service site - Hiking Interdune Boardwalk15-30 Minutes
The Interdune Boardwalk is an elevated boardwalk that leads you through the fragile interdune area to a scenic view of the dune field and the Sacramento mountains.
Opens on the Park Service site - Hiking Alkali Flat Trail3-5 Hours
Imagine yourself surrounded by the spectacular views of endless dunes with few footprints. The Alkali Flat Trail takes you through the heart of the sands, up and over steep dunes to the edge of Alkali Flat.
Opens on the Park Service site - Hiking Dune Life Nature Trail45-60 Minutes
The Dune Life Nature Trail is full of life! This family-friendly, one mile (1.6 km) loop trail is a great way to explore White Sands.
Opens on the Park Service site - Hiking Backcountry Camping Trail2-3 Hours
Are you looking for expansive views of snow-white gypsum dunes for miles? Hiking the Backcountry Camping Trail provides a sense of the magnitude of the world's largest gypsum dunefield.
Opens on the Park Service site
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- Sledding at the Alkali Flat Trailhead
The Alkali Flat trailhead parking area has some of the tallest dunes to go sledding at White Sands.
Opens on the Park Service site - Picnicking at White Sands
White Sands National Park offers three picnic areas where people can enjoy shade, relaxation, and access to the parks incredible dunes.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Events
- National Fossil Day Drop-in Program10/1410:00 AM · free
- Sunset Stroll10/1605:30 PM · runs through Oct 31 · freeMeet near the sunset stroll sign parking area, an 8-mile (12.9 km) drive from the fee station.
- Ice Age Life Within Drop-in Program10/1610:00 AM · runs through Oct 31 · free
- 06:30 PM · freeFull moon night programs are held in the amphitheater (Evening Program Area), which is a 7-mile (11.27 km) drive from the fee…
- Moonlight Hike10/2606:00 PM · registration required
- Ranger-Guided Walk of Ice Age Trail10/2810:00 AM · freeMeet at the Ice Age Trail parking lot located approximately 2.5 miles from the visitor center.
Show all 7Hide
- Lake Lucero Tour11/2110:00 AM · registration requiredThe Lake Lucero tour begins 25 miles (40.23 km) southwest of the park at the Small Missile Range Gate, located on Hwy 70 West…
News
- Walk Through Ice Age History at White Sands National Park During National Fossil Day ↗2026-09-28
Throughout October, White Sands National Park will celebrate National Fossil Day (Oct. 14) with a series of special programs exploring the Ice Age human and mammal fossilized footprints preserved throughout the…
- White Sands to Host Native American Flautist for September Full Moon Night Concert ↗2026-09-16
White Sands National Park will host its September Full Moon Night event Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. featuring a concert performed by Native American flautist and storyteller Randy Granger.
- White Sands National Park seeks to contact visitor who handled dead bat ↗2026-06-25
White Sands National Park is trying to contact a visitor who handled a dead bat with bare hands and brought it into the park visitor center on Thursday, June 18.
- White Sands to Celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary with 1st Armored Division Rock Band Performance at Full Moon Night Event. ↗2026-06-18
White Sands National Park will host its first Full Moon Night event of the year on Monday June 29, 2026, at 8 p.m. in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Historic landmarks nearby
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Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Guidebooks for New Mexico's national parks and the Southwest
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Full checklist: 151 birds, 52 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican Kestrel · Burrowing Owl · Cooper's Hawk · Golden Eagle · Great Horned Owl · Northern Harrier · Prairie Falcon · Sharp-shinned Hawk · Swainson's Hawk · Turkey Vulture · Western Red-tailed Hawk
Waterfowl & wadersCattle Egret · Common Merganser · Green Heron · Sandhill Crane · Snowy Egret
Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican Avocet · Franklin's Gull · Killdeer · Long-billed Dowitcher · Marbled Godwit · Ring-billed Gull · Snowy Plover · Western Sandpiper
Gamebirds & dovesEurasian Collared-Dove · Gambel's Quail · Inca Dove · Mourning Dove · Rock Pigeon · Scaled Quail · White-winged Dove
WoodpeckersAcorn Woodpecker · Ladder-backed Woodpecker · Northern Flicker (red-shafted) · Red-naped Sapsucker
Hummingbirds & swiftsBroad-tailed Hummingbird · Rufous Hummingbird · White-throated Swift
Also on the checklistAmerican Goldfinch · American Pipit · American Redstart · American Robin · Ash-throated Flycatcher · Barn Swallow · Bewick's Wren · Black Phoebe · Black-and-white Warbler · Black-headed Grosbeak · Black-tailed Gnatcatcher · Black-throated Blue Warbler · Black-throated Sparrow · Blue-gray Gnatcatcher · Brewer's Blackbird · Brewer's Sparrow · Bronzed Cowbird · Brown Creeper · Brown Thrasher · Brown-headed Cowbird · Bullock's Oriole · Cactus Wren · Cassin's Finch · Cassin's Kingbird · Cedar Waxwing · Chestnut-collared Longspur · Chestnut-sided Warbler · Chihuahuan Raven · Chipping Sparrow · Clay-colored Sparrow · Common Grackle · Common Raven · Common Yellowthroat · Cordilleran Flycatcher · Crissal Thrasher · Curve-billed Thrasher · Dark-eyed Junco · Dickcissel · Dusky Flycatcher · European Starling · Evening Grosbeak · Gray Flycatcher · Gray-cheeked Thrush · Great-tailed Grackle · Greater Roadrunner · Green-tailed Towhee · Harris's Sparrow · Hepatic Tanager · Hermit Thrush · Hooded Oriole · Hooded Warbler · Horned Lark · House Finch · House Sparrow · House Wren · Indigo Bunting · Kentucky Warbler · Lark Bunting · Lark Sparrow · Lazuli Bunting · Lesser Nighthawk · Lincoln's Sparrow · Loggerhead Shrike · Lucy's Warbler · MacGillivray's Warbler · Mountain Bluebird · Mountain Chickadee · Nashville Warbler · Northern Mockingbird · Northern Parula · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Northern Waterthrush · Orange-crowned Warbler · Orchard Oriole · Ovenbird · Phainopepla · Pine Siskin · Pyrrhuloxia · Red-breasted Nuthatch · Red-eyed Vireo · Red-winged Blackbird · Rock Wren · Rose-breasted Grosbeak · Ruby-crowned Kinglet · Sage Sparrow · Sage Thrasher · Savannah Sparrow · Say's Phoebe · Scarlet Tanager · Scott's Oriole · Song Sparrow · Sora · Spotted Towhee · Swainson's Thrush · Townsend's Solitaire · Townsend's Warbler · Verdin · Vesper Sparrow · Violet-green Swallow · Virginia's Warbler · Warbling Vireo · Western Bluebird · Western Kingbird · Western Tanager · Western Wood-Pewee · White-crowned Sparrow · White-throated Sparrow · Wilson's Warbler · Worm-eating Warbler · Yellow Warbler · Yellow-breasted Chat · Yellow-headed Blackbird · Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's)
Small mammalsBanner-tailed Kangaroo Rat · Black-tailed Jackrabbit · Botta's Pocket Gopher · Cactus Mouse · Crawford's Desert Shrew · Deer Mouse · Desert Cottontail · Desert Pocket Gopher · Eastern White-throated Woodrat · Hispid Cotton Rat · Hispid Pocket Mouse · House Mouse · Mearns's Grasshopper Mouse · Merriam's Kangaroo Rat · North American Porcupine · Northern Grasshopper Mouse · Ord's Kangaroo Rat · Plains Pocket Mouse · Silky Pocket Mouse · Sonoran Desert Pocket Mouse · Southern Plains Woodrat · Spotted Ground Squirrel · Western Harvest Mouse · White-footed Mouse · Yellow-faced Pocket Gopher
PredatorsAmerican Badger · Bobcat · Common Gray Fox · Coyote · Kit Fox · Long-tailed Weasel · Mountain Lion · Northern Raccoon · Ringtail · Striped Skunk · Western Spotted Skunk · White-backed Hog-nosed Skunk
Hoofed mammalsMule Deer · Pronghorn
BatsBig Brown Bat · Big Free-tailed Bat · California Myotis · Cave Myotis · Fringed Myotis · Hoary Bat · Mexican Free-tailed bat · Pallid Bat · Silver-haired Bat · Townsend's Big-eared Bat · Western Pipistrelle · Western Small-footed Myotis
Also on the checklistGemsbok
Activities
Activity guides for this park Camping in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks
Weather & climate
Temperatures at White Sands vary greatly throughout the year. Summer time temperatures can be very hot. Winters are mild with cool evenings. Spring time is the windy season. Fall is very enjoyable with mild daytime and night time temperatures.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to enter White Sands?
Entrance is $25 per private vehicle, $20 per motorcycle, and $15 per person on foot or bike. Per vehicle fee is charged to visitors for entry by a single, private non-commercial vehicle.
Source: National Park Service
Which passes work at White Sands?
The $80 America the Beautiful pass covers the entrance fee here, and a White Sands-only annual pass is $45.
Source: Is the pass worth it
Can I pay the entrance fee in cash?
No. White Sands takes cards only at the entrance.
Source: National Park Service
When is entrance to White Sands free?
Next on October 27, Theodore Roosevelt's birthday. 2 fee-free days are left this year, for US residents only.
Source: Free entrance days
Do I need a reservation to enter White Sands?
No. There is no timed-entry or entrance reservation at White Sands. Camping and some tours have their own reservations.
Source: National Park Service
What are the hours at White Sands?
Standard hours are 7:00AM - Sunset, every day. Dated exceptions are listed under Hours.
Source: National Park Service
Can I camp in White Sands?
Yes. The Park Service lists 1 campground in White Sands: Backcountry Camping.
Source: Campgrounds
Do any White Sands campgrounds have hookups or showers?
No. None of the 1 listed campgrounds report showers, electric hookups, or a dump station.
Source: Campgrounds
Do camping fees at White Sands include the entrance fee?
No. Camping is charged per night on top of the entrance fee or a pass; Backcountry Camping is $3 a night.
Source: Campgrounds
Is anything closed at White Sands right now?
5 active alerts as of October 14, 2026: Dunes Drive Safety Corridor; Backcountry Camping Closed; and more.
Source: Alerts
How busy is White Sands?
659,742 recreation visits in 2025, number 98 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
When was White Sands established?
1933. It covers about 225 square miles.
Source: Wikipedia
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
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