Day Trip to White Sands National Monument

[Part-Time Paradise 4]

Rookie TR, but it's a place that we've visited several times.  Seemed worth a shot.  I'm also going to try using Google Photos to link.  Maybe utter failure.  We'll see.

 

First off, I live in El Paso.  It's a short 1 hr 15 min trip to White Sands National Monument (WSNM).  We loaded up the cooler, sleds, sand toys, and lawn chairs for a ride into the desert around 1pm and hit the road.  WSNM is out in the middle of nowhere. If you are approaching from the SW (which I was), the nearest town is Las Cruces is about and hour away.  It's a big town with plenty to eat, shop, RV resupply, etc.  Coming from the NE, it's Alamagordo and is about 20 min away.  It has the essentials, but nothing mind blowing.  WSNM is the only oasis in between.  Get your fuel or potty stop in before you cross into no man's land.  

 

We arrived just after 2pm.  We drove towards the back of the park.  We found a pull out in between the Backcountry camping trailhead and the Heart of Sands picnic area (https://www.nps.gov/whsa/planyourvisit/map-files.htm#UnigridMap).  The two picnic areas have tables with shades on them and some scattered charcoal grills.  Because we wanted to be on our own and were on a cold cut diet, we opted for seclusion.  Once we hit the ground, the kids jumped straight into sledding and playing in the massive sandbox.

 

Prepping the sledding luge.  The NPS plows the sand regularly, so you might want a shovel to make the end of the run a slope instead of a ramp!

Brother still sandbox playing.  Sis making another run on the slopes.

Look out below!

 

Eventually I gave them the idea to dig a huge hole.  Why not?!  Huge hole.

 

FIL and MIL helping the kids start their hole.

A little deeper.

Brother about waist deep.  

 

 

We set up our chairs and table for an easy cold cut sandwich dinner and waited for the sunset.

MIL and DW watching the kids sled on the hill in front of them.

This is the best I could do with my phone, but the sunset and the following twilight were unreal.  The sand and dunes really plays with the light.

 

This place is incredible.  My pictures don't begin to encompass the expanse of the place.  In our prior trips we've hiked some of the trails and the kids picked up their Jr Ranger badges (a program that they absolutely love by the way).  If you want to visit I recommend three things:

-Buy sleds before you get here.  The old saucer sleds are the best.  They'll sell you a new one at the gift shop for $16 and buy it back when you are done for $3-4.  

-Bring baby powder to help removing sand from skin.  The sand is the finest stuff I've ever experienced...on the order of table salt.  It will stick to a kid that's gone A over A on a sled and the baby powder really helps knock the stuff off.

-Pack in food.  There is nothing other than some minor lickies and chewies in the gift shop.  You'll have to drive into Alamagordo to get a full meal.  There is water (for bottles, not RVs) at the gift shop and vault toilets scattered throughout the park.

If you are staying all day, especially in the summer, a canopy for shade wouldn't be a bad idea.  It's super bright from the reflection off the sand.

 

Anyway, we watched the sun go down around 615pm and had to boogie out before the gate locked at 7pm.  Again, we love this place and make the trip up when out-of-town visitors are here or when we get an itch for the beach and/or sledding.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

 

Edit:  I fixed the pictures.  Thanks bdm for the explanation here:  

Edit 2:  I added the distances to the nearest towns.

 

 

[Cortezcapt (Derek) 156]

Great report, looks like a fun day!

[Part-Time Paradise 4]

16 hours ago, Cortezcapt (Derek) said:

Great report, looks like a fun day!

Thanks.  I fixed the pictures now.  It's a great place.

[ftwildernessguy 778]

It is, indeed, an interesting area.  I spent quite a bit of time in a tent on the missile range near ground zero.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

That looks like so much fun!

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[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Thank you for reminding me of this place!  We're heading out for the SW, at the end of April.  We may need to take this one on, at the end of our trip!  :) 

[Part-Time Paradise 4]

Thank you for reminding me of this place!  We're heading out for the SW, at the end of April.  We may need to take this one on, at the end of our trip!  :) 

Worth at least driving through. Nature is incredible. Let me know if you need help on where to stay or other things to do in the area.

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[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Excellent trip report.

So, what's the backstory on this place?  Where did all of that sand come from?  It looks like the sand found along the Florida panhandle coast, which supposedly is ground granite from ancient glaciers.  That's always amazed me.

TCD

[Travisma 1,317]

20 hours ago, Slapwacky said:

Thanks.  I fixed the pictures now.  It's a great place.

Great looking place.

Now is everyone in long pants/sleeves because of the:

Temperature?  Was it cold ?

Sun, to prevent sunburn ?

To keep most of the sand there and not stuck in places it shouldn't be?

 

[Part-Time Paradise 4]

Excellent trip report.
So, what's the backstory on this place?  Where did all of that sand come from?  It looks like the sand found along the Florida panhandle coast, which supposedly is ground granite from ancient glaciers.  That's always amazed me.
TCD

It's gypsum that was eroded off the mountain range to the west in the background. The mountains on the east prevented the wind from scattering it across the desert. It's closer to powder than sand. It's cool to the touch. Unlike anything I've seen before.

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[Part-Time Paradise 4]

Great looking place.
Now is everyone in long pants/sleeves because of the:
Temperature?  Was it cold ?
Sun, to prevent sunburn ?
To keep most of the sand there and not stuck in places it shouldn't be?
 

It was a little chilly in the morning. We expected some wind, but it ended up being a beautiful day in the 60s. Once the sun went down though, the temps drop quickly. The weather is deceptive. It's in the middle of a desert, but it's at 4300'.

If you are coming to play in the sand and "tailgate", wear temp appropriate clothes and wear sunscreen, hat, etc to cover exposed areas. If you are coming to hike on trails and camp in the backcountry, I'd wear long sleeves and pants to prevent exposure and keep sand where I didn't want it to get.

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[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

21 hours ago, Slapwacky said:

Worth at least driving through. Nature is incredible. Let me know if you need help on where to stay or other things to do in the area.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
 

Thank you!  Looks to be fairly close to Albuquerque and I had debating taking the 10 (then I20) back home, so this may work out.

I've seen a couple of youtube episodes where people drove their RV into the park and then just pulled along side of the road (parking areas) to play in the sand for a couple of hours.  Do you think this feasible?    We have a 40' 5th wheel and I'd rather not unhitch. 

[Part-Time Paradise 4]

25 minutes ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Thank you!  Looks to be fairly close to Albuquerque and I had debating taking the 10 (then I20) back home, so this may work out.

I've seen a couple of youtube episodes where people drove their RV into the park and then just pulled along side of the road (parking areas) to play in the sand for a couple of hours.  Do you think this feasible?    We have a 40' 5th wheel and I'd rather not unhitch. 

Close is relative in the Southwest, isn't it?

I spent a few minutes pawing through the regulations on the site and found no mention of a restriction on RV sizes.  There was about a 30' 5er in the monument when I was there.  They were parked in the picnic area and a group of 20 or so were eating and playing out of it.  There is RV parking in front of the visitor center (pull thru spots, right against the highway).  In my visits there, I see no area that you could get yourself in trouble, even at 40'.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

2 minutes ago, Slapwacky said:

Close is relative in the Southwest, isn't it?

I spent a few minutes pawing through the regulations on the site and found no mention of a restriction on RV sizes.  There was about a 30' 5er in the monument when I was there.  They were parked in the picnic area and a group of 20 or so were eating and playing out of it.  There is RV parking in front of the visitor center (pull thru spots, right against the highway).  In my visits there, I see no area that you could get yourself in trouble, even at 40'.

Haha, yes.  When you're traveling from Georgia...the 4 hour drive from Albuquerque feels much more doable 

Thanks for the feeback on the roads!

[Robin 48]

Wow that place looks so cool! Sledding on sand is looks much better than snow! No wet freezing mittens, no boots falling off kids feet, no frost bite, everyone can put there arms down lol! What a great day!

[caveat lector 181]

I think you need to drop the "rookie" part. That is a great TR. Thanks 

[Part-Time Paradise 4]

I think you need to drop the "rookie" part. That is a great TR. Thanks 

Thanks. It was the first one... everyone was a newbie once. I'll upgrade to "novice" or "apprentice" TR next go

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[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

very cool!!! Out west I will go someday

[DaveInTN 3,247]

30 minutes ago, mouseketab.....Carol said:

very cool!!! Out west I will go someday

Yoda?

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Just now, DaveInTN said:

Yoda?

Of course :)

[Part-Time Paradise 4]

On 1/12/2018 at 7:16 PM, mouseketab.....Carol said:

very cool!!! Out west I will go someday

It's a totally different world out here.  I never would've thought I'd love it as much as I would when Uncle Sam sent me out here.  Totally worth weeks and months long vacations out here.

On 1/12/2018 at 7:48 PM, DaveInTN said:

Yoda?

Do or do not, there is no someday.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

8 hours ago, Slapwacky said:

 

Do or do not, there is no someday.

I like that!

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

That looks like so much fun!  I want to sled too.

Great info you are providing, thanks.