another day, another national park! i know i sound like a broken record, but white sands national park is unllike any other place i’ve ever seen. it’s quite literally white gypsum sands as far as the eye can see, and it is breathtaking to behold in person.

we set out from carlsbad after breakfast, stopped for lunch in alamogordo, and got to the park in the early afternoon. we swung by the visitors center for me to grab some postcards and to ask about the trails, and then we were on our way.

we settled on the backcountry camping trail — as soon as we read “expansive views of snow-white gypsum dunes for miles” we were sold. we parked, put on lots and lots of sunscreen, and set off on our way, and for the next hour we ran up dunes and took a gazillion pictures and exclaimed over and over about how incredible it was.

when we finished our loop and got back to the car we decided to drive the full park loop so we could see the rest of the park, went back to the visitors center for snacks, and then set off for las cruces where we stayed the night.

as with our previous stops my mind is still processing that a place like this exists, and i feel so lucky to have been able to see it for myself.

know before you go:

• CARRY WATER WITH YOU. i don’t use capital letters on this blog so you hopefully that conveys how serious i am about this. when you are on the dunes you are in direct sunlight, and it is going to dehydrate you. our hike was 2.7 kilometers and it was only about 65 degrees fahrenheit, and i still drank over a liter of water while we were out there. trust me on this, and please carry water.
• wear sunscreen. again, that sunlight is direct and intense and there is no shade.
• wear a hat. both jeremy and i wished we had hats with us. the sun is intense
• once again there is no phone signal, so keep the trail map handy [i love the all trails app for this] to make sure you don’t get lost or turned around. the backcountry camping trail had markers, but there are a few spots where they’re quite far apart and i was glad to be able to see where we were on my map
• on that same note, having the trail map will help you know once you have completed the loop. once you’re on the sands everything looks the same, and luckily i caught us before we restarted the loop
• you’ll need a national parks pass to enter — white sands has a checkpoint where they will check your pass or collect your entry fee
• as the park is next to white sands missile range, the park will occasionally be closed when they are testing missiles. you can check the website for upcoming park closures and additional information
• if you don’t want to hike, you can opt instead to drive around the park so you can still see the dunes up close. the first half is paved, while the second half is a packed gypsum road
• some people like to hike the dunes barefoot; jeremy wore his trail shoes and I wore my hiking boots. go barefoot or wear shoes, the choice is yours; definitely don’t do sandals
• sledding down the dunes is very popular — you can bring your own or rent/buy sleds at the visitors’ center

xx