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White Sands National Park – Alamogordo, New Mexico

White Sands National Park entrance with vegetation and yucca

White Sands National Park is located in Southwestern New Mexico about 50 miles North of Las Cruces, or about 90 miles from El Paso, Texas. It is a collection of white dunes made of gypsum sand. The color of the sand has contributed to the evolution of several white subspecies of animal that are only found here. These include the Bleached Earless Lizard, Apache Pocket Mouse, Sand Wolf Spider, Sand-Treaded Camel Cricket, and several types of moth.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see any of these critters! I did, however, get to enjoy a rain shower on the dunes as the monsoon season was being ushered in.

white sands national park with mountains and clouds in background

After taking a drive through the dunes and playing in the sand, I took a walk on the interdune boardwalk. The boardwalk is an accessible trail that is 0.4 miles long round trip. If you can’t (or don’t want to) walk directly through the sand, this is a great option to enjoy the the beauty of the dunes.

white sands national park dune boardwalk

It’s easy to see where the dunes start because of how white they are, but there’s a surprising amount of vegetation among the sand. Some of the higher dunes are completely bare with the lower areas having the majority of the plant life.

white sands national park yellow flower

The Interdune Boardwalk was host to many pretty wild flowers. This is also where you’re most likely to see some lizards, particularly in the morning before it gets too hot.

white sands national park pink flower desert verbena
Sand Verbena (flower)

If you visit White Sands National Park, make sure to bring plenty of water! In the summer months it can get very hot and there is no water available past the visitor center. There are several areas you can sit to picnic as well as multiple restrooms available.

white sands national park dune with clouds

You can witness the beauty right from your car (but obviously I think you should get out at least for a moment). If you do choose to hike the dunes, the sand tends to be on the firmer side. Everyone was really nice, too, from the people in the gift shops to the people at the entrance gate.

white sands national park sunset

I really enjoyed White Sands National Park and when you visit, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! I can’t wait to go back and go lizard-spotting! I’d love to hear about any cool experiences you’ve had at White Sands National Park so share them down below.

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