Park Number: 32/63

First Visited: July 4, 2012

As of December 2019, it’s the most recent addition of the sixty-two national parks, getting an upgrade from its 1933 national monument status—and the upgrade is well deserved. What makes these dunes unique, opposed to other similar formations found across the country, is that they are comprised of white gypsum crystals, making this the largest dunefield of its kind on the planet.

The history of the Tularosa Basin, where the dunes currently reside, ranges from fossilized footprints of ice age mammals to myriad Indigenous inhabitants to a modern missile range that completely surrounds the park. Adding to the mystique of the alien-like landscape is its proximity to Roswell and the famous allegation of a UFO crash.

As with all sand dunes, this place is fun to wander on foot, with the rise and fall of the wind-blown mounds creating a hypnotic flow of movement. They lure you to keep exploring. But don’t go too far without proper provisions—this place gets hot. All the more reason to explore at night: White Sands becomes an alternate park in the dark, with most of the wildlife coming to life. If you plan your trip right, you can even attend a ranger-led full moon hike (happening once a month, April through October, on the night before the full moon).

White Sands is the ancestral lands of the Mescalero Apache Tribe.