5 FUN things to do at White Sands National Park

Last updated on June 7th, 2026

Heading to White Sands National Park? We’re sharing the best things to do at White Sands National Park, as well as important things to know before you go.

Located in Southern New Mexico lies White Sands National Park, one of the most magical places in the state! Here you’ll find a vast sea of white dunes, with a spectacular mountain backdrop. Not only is it visually stunning, but it’s also a super fun park to explore! You can freely climb the dunes (your dog included!) and go sledding, making it feel like one giant playground.

And the best part? You don’t need hours upon hours or multiple days to experience its beauty. Even if you’re just road tripping through New Mexico, it makes for a fun, quick stop.

We have been lucky enough to visit the park twice and firmly believe it’s one of the best national parks in the Southwest. And in this guide we’re sharing the things to do at White Sands National Park, as well as important information about the park, where to stay, and extra activities nearby!

Before embarking on your adventure, please review the Leave No Trace principles to ensure you leave every place better than you found it, so that others can enjoy these beautiful places for many years to come!

These seven principles include planning ahead and preparing, hiking and camping on durable surfaces, disposing of waste properly (pack out what you pack in!), understanding campfire rules and always fully extinguishing your fires, respecting wildlife, and being considerate of other visitors. 

About White Sands National Park

Formerly White Sands National Monument, this natural wonder officially got upgraded to a national park in December 2019 (just days after our first visit!). The park is famous for its 275 square mile gypsum sand dunes. Which is so large it can be seen from space!

What is gypsum you may ask? It’s a common mineral found in everyday products, like drywall and toothpaste. Similar to salt, gypsum dissolves in water and will recrystallize during evaporation of liquid. When rain falls on the mountains behind the dunes, the layers of gypsum on the mountains start to dissolve. And the gypsum runs down the mountain to the basin floor to a spot called Lake Lucero. And when the water evaporates, the minerals recrystallize into Selenite, which then helps form the dunes.

5 Fun Things to do at White Sands National Park

You could spend anywhere from 1 hour to a whole day at White Sands depending on how much time you have and what you’d like to do. But no matter how long you’re there, you’ll still get to experience how magical the gypsum dunes are. Here are 5 things to do at White Sands National Park!

1. Go sledding

By far one of the best things to do at White Sands National Park is going sledding! We are so mad at ourselves for not doing this while we were there–it looks so fun! You can bring your own sled or rent or buy one at the Visitors Center. They say that waxed plastic snow saucers work the best on the gypsum dunes!

2. Hike one of the trails

3. Drive down Dunes Drive

Dunes Drive is an 8 mile drive from the Visitor Center to the heart of the dunefield. The drive has great views of the mountains and dunes along the way, but the best part was that 4 miles into the drive, the road turns into gypsum, so you get to drive on the sand! But don’t worry, it’s super packed any easily accessible for any car. This is a great option for things to do at White Sands National Park if you only have 1 hour to spend at White Sands!

4. Attend a Ranger-led Tour

One of the best things to do at White Sands National Park is to attend a ranger-led tour! There are a handful of different options to choose from, depending on when you visit.

Year-round you can attend a FREE sunset stroll with a park ranger. These occur on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and no reservations are required. This is a great way to experience the park at sunset and learn about its flora and fauna along the way.

March-December, the park also offers different full moon experiences, including a moonlight hike and a full moon night. These both have limited schedules, so make sure to check in advance. The moonlight hike does require reservations in advance (up to 30 days beforehand) and it costs $8/person (anyone 16 and older) and $4/person (15 and younger).

And once a month during November-March, rangers lead a three hour guided tour out to Lake Lucero. This is said to be the birthplace of the dunes! At Lake Lucero you’ll get to see tons of selenite crystals, which are very important to forming gypsum sand. The cost is $8/person for anyone 16 and older and $4/person for anyone 15 and younger. You can make reservations up to 30 days in advance. To see the dates of the tour, check out the schedule here and add to your things to do at White Sands National Park itinerary!

5. PLAY!

Don’t have a sled? Don’t have much time for a trail? Don’t worry, one of the best things to do at White Sands National Park is to just PLAY in the sand! We seriously had a blast running up and down the dunes with our pup Kona and soaking up the views of the mountains. When driving down Dunes Drive, there are tons of spots to pull over and get out into the dunes. Whether you have 30 minutes or two hours, playing in the sand will definitely put a smile on your face. 🙂

Extra Activities Near White Sands National Monument

Planning your trip to White Sands National Park

Park Hours

Unlike some national parks, which are open 24 hours, White Sands has set hours, which vary based on the season. The gate to the park opens at 7 AM year-round. But the gate closes 30 minutes after sunset the majority of the year. To determine the sunset time, use this link, but then subtract 8 minutes to get the actual sunset time for the park.

Between May 22, 2026, through September 7, 2026, the park will close one hour after sunset.

The park is closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Also, one very important thing to know about the park is that it neighbors the White Sands Missile Range. The park can close down for up to three hours during missile testing. You can see the schedule of closures here to make sure you don’t show up to find the park closed.

Entrance Fee

Entry into the park is $25 per car, but free if you have the America the Beautiful Pass. The pass gets you access to all National Monuments and Parks. It’s totally worth the cost!

Dogs are allowed!

And one of the best things about the park? It’s pet friendly as long as they are on a 6ft leash! Kona absolutely loved the things to do at White Sands National Park and rolling around in the sand!

When to visit White Sands National Park

One super cool fact about White Sands is that gypsum doesn’t absorb heat like typical sand does, which means that the dunes don’t get too hot even when the sun is blasting and the temperatures are high.

However, even though the sand won’t burn your feet, the weather at White Sands National Park can be pretty brutal during the summer months. The temperature during the summer can reach over 100 degrees and with zero cover from the sun, it’ll feel pretty dang hot. We’d recommend arriving to the park as close to sunrise as you can if you plan to visit in the summer.

We visited during the month of December and the weather was great! In the shade it was a bit chilly, but in the sun it was the perfect temperature. If you want the best daytime weather, we’d suggest visiting between October–April.

Getting to White Sands National Park

White Sands National Park is located about an hour northeast of Las Cruces in Southern New Mexico. The closest major airport is in El Paso, about 45 minutes south of Las Cruces, but we have a feeling that many of you are visiting while road tripping across the Southwest!

If you’re road tripping, White Sands is a great stop if you’re making your way to Tucson or Phoenix, Albuquerque, or through West Texas. When we first attempted to visit White Sands, we visited Saguaro National Park, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Big Bend National Park, and Marfa all within days of each other. So if you’re visiting any of those destinations, we’d highly recommend adding things to do at White Sands National Park to your itinerary!

Where to stay at White Sands National Park

Camping
If you’d rather fully immerse yourself in White Sands, you can go backcountry camping! The backcountry campground is about 1 mile each way and gives you the chance to sleep on the gypsum sand dunes for the night. If you plan to do this, keep in mind that the park gate closes at night, so you cannot leave until 7 AM when it opens in the morning. Campfires are also not allowed, but you can bring a camping stove.

While there is no boondocking directly by the park, we love boondocking near Las Cruces. This spot has epic views of the Organ Mountains and is one of the best campsites in New Mexico.

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