White Sands National Park: An “Otherworldly” Experience

If you’re a fan of U.S. National Parks, you know each one offers unique and unforgettable experiences that showcase the beauty of the country. Our recent one-day visit to White Sands National Park in New Mexico, however, was truly exceptional—one of the most extraordinary experiences we’ve ever had. You might even call it 'otherworldly.'

This visit was on New Year’s Day. The temperatures were in the high 50’s Fahrenheit. The sun was shining for the most part which helped it to feel warmer. In the summer months, this park reaches 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which can be very uncomfortable and, if you are not prepared, dangerously hot.

On a road trip, this National Park was extra fun to enjoy with some of our kids and grandkids.

White Sands is a little less than an hour from the town of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Since Las Cruces is home of New Mexico State, the town offers a variety of hotels and restaurants. It has a very cute downtown area as well.

White Sands was declared a National Monument in 1933 by President Hoover. However, it was not actually made a National Park until 2019!

Once you arrive, start with the Visitor Center at the entrance to the park. It’s very informative, giving detail about the geology of the areas and “why” the White Sands exist. There is also a gift shop and a place to get a few snacks and water.

After paying your entrance fee, you’ll drive into the park and start to see the sand. What makes it so white? Well , it’s actually made of gypsum. This is the world's largest gypsum dune field, a natural wonder created by this fine, white sand made of gypsum crystals. Unlike typical sand, gypsum doesn’t retain heat, so the dunes stay cool to the touch—even under the hot New Mexico sun.

One of the first places to stop is Dune Life Nature Trail. It’s a short one mile loop that gives you a good overview of what makes this park so unique. Along the way, interpretive signs provide insights into the plants, animals, and geology of the area, highlighting how life adapts to the harsh desert environment.

The trail is marked by orange posts to guide visitors and is best hiked early in the morning or later in the afternoon to avoid the midday heat, especially during the hot summer months. It’s a family-friendly way to learn about the fascinating life that thrives in this seemingly barren landscape.

The surreal, almost alien terrain, devoid of typical vegetation, is punctuated by the unusual gypsum sand, which gives the place an ethereal glow. The way the dunes shimmer in the sunlight, combined with the shifting patterns in the sand and the dramatic desert sky, creates a feeling that you might be exploring an extraterrestrial world—far removed from the familiar. It’s easy to see why visitors describe it as "otherworldly."

This tree in this setting, above the white sand and below the bright blue sky, was an amazing site to see! It continued the “otherworldly” theme for me. And I was so happy that the picture captured it well! This is a truly unique environment that invites exploration and sparks the imagination.

The sand is very soft but your feet tend to sink in it, so climbing the hills can be a bit of a workout. So happy I got to experience this park with this girl!

There are several picnic areas throughout the park. Because there are no trees for shade the picnic tables all have metal awnings. Why are they all pointed in the same direction? It’s for shelter from the wind, that can get quite nasty at times.

On this day, we picked a spot and set up our picnic. Every spot has a grill, which we saw people using. We had homemade chili and cornbread that we’d brought. We heated it on a camp stove for a warm, delicious lunch. If you want to check out the super easy to make Chili recipe click: HERE

Nice warm lunch on a cool day!

With lunch out of the way, it was time to get serious about sledding, one of the main attractions in the park. Use wax on the saucers to help them move down the hills faster. The Visitors Center sells saucers for $25 each or rents for $15 each. We bought ours on Amazon for about $12 a piece before leaving home. They also sell the wax for about $3 which we did purchase.

There are hills everywhere, so just pick one and go. It was very fun to see families out all together and people of all ages trying out the sledding.

Unlike skiing, there is no chair-lift so once you’re at the bottom, you have to hike your way back up to the top. Great exercise but you’ll be tired for sure at the end.

One last shot of White Sands as it’s like snow in the desert. It was a great day for all. If you get a chance make the trek to White Sands National Park. It truly is unlike anything you’ll ever visit and well worth the drive!