Sights Around White Sands National Park
An Overview of White Sands
Located in New Mexico and surrounded by the White Sands Missile Range, White Sands National Park is entirely unique landscape of startling whiteness and rolling dunes. The sand dunes of the park are made from gypsum crystals, giving them their unique texture and color. However, as a result, the sun reflecting off the dunes is extremely strong, making sunglasses and sunblock a priority when visiting. The National Park can be explored by following a hard-packed gypsum-sand loop which leads to unique dune formations and patches of wildlife. The park remains a popular area for climbing dunes and sand-sledding, with many guests bringing personal sleds or cardboard for that exact purpose. With its stunning landscape, nearby missile testing range and variety of surrounding outdoor activities, there are many sights around White Sands National Park.
Sights Around White Sands National Park
Organ Needle
The Organ Needle is the highest point in the nearby Organ Mountains, providing a challenging hiking route and incredible views of the surrounding lowlands. The mountain range is known for its rocky spires and angular rock formations.
White Sands Missile Range Museum
White Sands Missile Range is an active missile testing site where much of the United States missile and space ballistics continues to develop. For safety, the missile range occasionally closes the only road into the dune-fields (Dunes Drive) for up to three hours when tests are being conducted. The Missile Range is also home to a museum, showcasing various ballistics and recording the history of the site, including the world’s first atomic bomb test in 1945.
Space Murals Museum And Gift Shop
This is an entertaining road-stop attraction with large outdoor water tanks painted with the history of the US space program. Inside, visitors can enjoy further displays and a model of the forgotten Space Station Freedom, which was never built.
San Andres National Wildlife Refuge
Found within the White Sands Missile Range, this is a long series of mountains which contains wildlife, including a robust population of mountain-hopping desert bighorn sheep.
Dune Life Nature Trail
Found within White Sands National Park, this is a sandy, one mile loop leading to a unique grassy dune habitat, complete with several educational and informative signs. Note that two portions of the route require a somewhat steep climb.
Playa Trail
This level, half-mile loop trail leads to a dry lake bed which is filled with seasonal stormwaters.
Alkali Flat Trailhead
This is a fairly isolated hiking route following a difficult path through mid-sized dunes and loose-footing sand mounds. The trail takes roughly three hours to complete at an average pace.
Prehistoric Trackways National Monument
This is a national monument known for its Paleozoic-era fossils. The fossilized footprints follow a fossil mega-trackway with imprints created by land animals, sea creatures and insects. There are also fossilized plants and bits of petrified wood present.
Fort Selden Historic Site
This was a United States Army Post and El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro campground. It also served as a Confederate Army camp during 1861. The historic site now hosts many crumbling walls, educational signs and Old West props.
Recycled Roadrunner Sculpture
This is a large Roadrunner statue made from upcycled material standing in the desert.
Zuhl Museum: Home of the Zuhl Collection
This is a art-gallery-natural-history-museum combination at NMSU which is home to over 1,800 beautiful specimens of petrified wood, fossils and minerals.
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