Size: 73,600 Acres

Year Established: 2019

Annual Visitors: 782,000

Firearms Information in White Sands National Park

All people who are allowed to have guns legally by federal, state, and local laws are allowed to have them in this park.

Before entering this park, it is the responsibility of each visitor to know and follow the New Mexico state, local, and federal gun laws. Check out New Mexico’s state home page to learn more.

Keep in mind federal law makes it illegal to have guns in certain federal buildings, such as the visitor center, administration building, entrance station, gift shops, including those that are run by concessionaires, and maintenance buildings.

Hunting in White Sands National Park

White Sands National Monument is like most other National Parks in that it does not allow hunting.

Additional Information About White Sands National Park

One of the natural wonders of our globe is New Mexico’s dazzling white dunes. Tularosa Basin, the largest gypsum dunefield in the United States, is the source of these mountains. Its large, wave-like sand dunes spread out over 275 square miles of desert. Northern Chihuahuan Desert is where you’ll find these pristine white sand dunes. You may find it in the “internally drained valley” of the Tularosa Basin.

Intense activity exists in this dune field. Dune fields that experience the most annual movement shift up to 30 feet to the northeast, while those that experience the least seem to hardly shift at all.

These bizarre dunes are made entirely of pure gypsum, which washes in from a playa or ephemeral lake in the western half of the monument. White sand dunes are really deposits of gypsum that are left behind after water evaporates and are subsequently blown around by the wind.

It becomes very cold in the winter and very hot in the summer, there isn’t much water on the ground, and what little water there is is highly mineralized, thus many plant and animal species here have adapted in very specific ways to survive these conditions.

Best Time to Visit White Sands National Park

The best time to visit White Sands National Parks is between the months of October to November.

Visitor Fees

$15.00 per person for up to 7 days.

$25.00 per vehicle for up to 7 days.

$20.00 per motorcycle for up to 7 days.

$45.00 for White Sands National Park Annual Pass

Visitor Centers

White Sands Visitor Center

Address

19955 US-70,
Alamogordo, NM 88310

Phone Number

(575) 479-6124

Hours of Operation

Daily 9:00 AM–5:00 PM

Be sure to check for seasonal closures.
During the winter, the park may close without warning because of dangerous road conditions or extreme weather.