• home
  • about
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Work with me
  • Plan a Trip with Me
  • Best Travel Cards
  • Read the blog

ashley on the move

  • Travel Planning
  • Destinations
  • Blog

National Parks, US Travel · June 27, 2021

The Ultimate Guide to Visiting White Sands National Monument

Ashley on the Move is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as Milevalue.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. Read the full disclosure here

Looking for a guide to plan your trip to White Sands but not sure where to start? Look no further and keep reading for the guide to White Sands National Monument.

White Sands National Monument Guide

Being from the East Coast, I’m used to seeing sand dunes. Most of the beaches in North Carolina have them. But let me tell you, seeing these very white tall dunes in the middle of the mountains in New Mexico was UNREAL. We had a blast walking around the dunes and just soaking in the beauty. And we even got to take Benny! Any place that lets us take our dogs is an automatic win for us.

White Sands National Monument

White Sands National Monument is in a bit of a random place, but so so worth a visit. It is pretty easy to get to depending where you start from and won’t take you the whole day. So, White Sands is a great place to tack onto a road trip or existing visit to a nearby city like El Paso or Las Cruces.

Table of Contents

  • Before You Go
  • Where to stay
  • How to get to White Sands National Monument
  • Download a FREE packing checklist for your next outdoor adventure!
  • When to go to White Sands
  • What to do in White Sands National Monument
  • Suggestions to add onto your road trip

Before You Go

White Sands National Monument was founded in 1933. White Sands is a 275 square mile area of gypsum sand dunes in the Tularosa Basin of New Mexico. What makes these dunes so unique is that they are made of gypsum. Typically, gypsum isn’t found in such small particles to make sand, but this area used to be sea and the sea floor was gypsum. Millions of years of rising and falling sea levels turned the gypsum to sand. The dunes can even be seen from space!

Dogs at White Sands National Monument

I think it’s important to understand the geology and history of what you’re seeing, so I highly recommend a stop at the visitor center when you drop in!

You really only need about a half day to explore the monument, so this trip is best planned in conjunction with another stop. Read to the bottom to see other spots in the area!

Where to stay

White Sands National Monument is approximately in the middle of nowhere New Mexico. Located about 25 miles from Las Cruces and 30 minutes from White Sands Missile Range, the road to White Sands is pretty open and easy to locate.

The closest town with a good amount of accommodations is Alamogordo about 16 miles from the monument. Here are a few recommendations:

Luxury: Okay, there aren’t any really “luxurious”options in the area, but the most expensive is the Holiday Inn Express and Suites. Looks cozy!

Average: The Classic Desert Aire Hotel

Budget: Cloudcroft Hostel

Camping with Hipcamp at Sombra Antigua

However, we camped and there are plenty of places to camp around the area. If you’re up for a drive, I would suggest booking a spot at Sombra Antigua Winery in Anthony, New Mexico. They do have one spot with electric hook up so snag that if you can, otherwise you’ll be roughing it a bit. They provide you with a shower and bathroom as well as potable water. And, it’s at a winery sooo kind of a no brainer?! We got to do a wine tasting and it was a blast. Book here through Hip Camp.

Other camping recommendations:

KOA White Sands

How to get to White Sands National Monument

White sand dunes

Again, as I mentioned before, White Sands is in the middle of nowhere. The only way to get here is by car. I would recommend tacking this on to an existing trip to New Mexico or Texas because you’ll need to fly into a big city that can be a bit of a drive away. So how better to maximize your time than adding in other items on your bucket list?

Whether like us, you’re driving from North Carolina or you’re from New Mexico, you’ll definitely need to drive your car or a rental car to get here.


Not driving from your home state? You can fly into a major airport in the surrounding area. The closest airport is in El Paso, only about an hour and a half to two hour drive to White Sands. Other airports to fly into:

Phoenix (441 miles)

Albuquerque (221 miles)

Tucson (327 miles)


Book a rental car and make a road trip out of it!

Download a FREE packing checklist for your next outdoor adventure!

Leave nothing behind. Get the checklist!

    All fun, no spam! Opt out whenever you’d like.

    Built with ConvertKit

    When to go to White Sands

    Dunes at White Sands National Monument


    White Sands National Monument is pretty much in the valley of the mountains and is more of a desert climate. Aka it’s HOT in the summer and COLD in the winter. The best seasons to visit are spring or fall. However, if you’re there in summer the park is open from 7 am to 9 pm, so you can go first thing or last thing to beat the heat.

    Make sure you pack plenty of water if you’re there in summer! Or really any time, because hydration is important.

    Dogs at White Sands National Monument

    Pups are also welcome at White Sands so bring a leash and let your pup run around!

    What to do in White Sands National Monument

    White Sands National Monument is essentially a bunch of large, white, very cool sand dunes. The biggest things to do are hike and sled. Unfortunately when we went, the gift shop wasn’t open yet so we didn’t get to sled but lots of other people were doing it and it looked like a BLAST! Bring your own plastic sled, or if it’s open, you can rent one from the gift shop for about $16 (you’ll get $5 back when you return it). The dunes vary in shape, height, and incline so there’s a dune for everyone to sled down!

    The monument also has a couple designated hiking trails. The Interdunes Boardwalk is an easy .4 mile trek and gives you some good view points and history along the way. There’s also Playa Trail and backcountry hiking but be warned… the sand moves with the wind so the trails are never the same as they were the week or day before!

    We opted to just explore the dunes. You don’t have to stay on designated trails or paths so you can explore at your leisure. I recommend driving past the paved road onto the sand road and getting past the crowds. The dunes towards the back of the park are also a little more bare with less shrubbery (so better for sledding!). We had a blast just running down the dunes with our dog, Benny.

    White Sands National Monument

    You can also stop by the gift shop and the museum at the park’s entrance. It wasn’t open when we went, but I would’ve loved to pop into the museum to learn a little more about the history and geography of White Sands.

    I would allot an hour or two to explore White Sands National Monument. You can definitely stay longer if you’re enjoying sledding, but for the most part it’s just sand dunes. We stayed for about an hour and felt like this was adequate. Especially in the summer, it’s just so hot!

    Suggestions to add onto your road trip

    Carlsbad Caverns: Carlsbad Caverns is a national park in the southeastern corner of New Mexico. I’ve heard it’s AMAZING! It’s only a 3 hour drive from White Sands so this would be a good place to add to your trip

    Lincoln National Forest: located just east of White Sands in the Sacramento Mountains, you can hike, bike, or camp!

    Gila Cliff Dwellings: Check out where nomadic people used to stay as they traveled through the area, see petroglyphs, and explore this desert area. Tons of saguaro cactus here, too!

    I hope this guide is helpful! White Sands is a really unique stop that I suggest hitting if you’re in west Texas or New Mexico. If you use this guide to plan your trip, let me know in the comments!

    If you liked this, you’ll love…

    • The best things to do in Wyoming (that aren’t national parks!)
    • How to plan the perfect trip
    • The complete guide to planning a trip to Yellowstone

    In: National Parks, US Travel

    You’ll Also Love

    The Ultimate Guide to a Quick US Virgin Islands Vacation
    USA Road Trip Budget: how much we spent in 7 weeks of travel
    Boulder, Colorado: things to do (and where to stay, eat, and play)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Next Post >

    How to plan the perfect trip: all the best tips for an epic adventure

    meet ashley

    Hi friend! I’m Ashley, a 20-something newlywed, dog mom, and pediatric physical therapist. I have incurable wanderlust and when I’m not working, I’m dreaming up our next adventure. We utilize credit card points and miles to see the world for nearly free and I’m teaching you the same thing. I’m so glad you’re here!

    free credit card consultation

    Not sure what credit card you need to meet your travel goals? Fill out the survey to get a FREE personalized credit card recommendation.

    connect on instagram

    Can’t wait to add another girlie pop to our squa Can’t wait to add another girlie pop to our squad!!!!
    🚨Exciting news!! Personalized travel planning j 🚨Exciting news!! Personalized travel planning just entered the chat. 

I’m so grateful and excited to have partnered with Fora Travel to to help you book your next bucket list trip as a travel advisor. Fora has partnerships with over 2,000 hotels and tour companies around the world so you can get VIP perks anywhere you wanna go. Whether you want to just book a hotel for the perks or want a full customized itinerary. 

As such, it’s time to retire this account because it just doesn’t match the vision of my travel advising business. I would LOVE for you to follow me over at @ashleyrice.travel to keep up to date with my blog and travel business. This account will still remain as more of a personal/Raleigh-Durham account. Whether you follow my business account, stick around here, or decide it’s time for us to part ways—thanks for being apart of my journey. 

I’m so excited for what 2023 has to bring! If you have questions about my new venture as a travel advisor, want to book a trip with me, or just see what all the fuss is about, follow me @ashleyrice.travel or send me a DM on either account. I can’t wait to hear from you!

#traveladvisor #travelplanning #luxurytravel #adventuretravel #frequentflyer #firstclass
    In 2022, I started to see the potential of what my In 2022, I started to see the potential of what my life could be. Thanks to the blog, Instagram, and burn out in my professional life—I traveled more last year than ever. And 2023 is shaping up to be the same way! My advice remains the same as always: take the damn trip. Use the PTO! Explore on the weekends. Life is short, make it worth it!! 

#travelinspiration #travelreels #travelblogger #luxurytravel #businessclassflyer #frequentflyer #weekendwarrior #sheisnotlost #womenwhotravel #traveladvisor
    “Ashley, you just asked for PTO last month” I “Ashley, you just asked for PTO last month” I can’t hearrrr youuuuu 🙉

Who can relate?? Do you have a goal to use more PTO this year?

#travelblogger #travelinspiration #sheisnotlost #womenwhotravel #luxurytravel #pointsandmiles #travelmore #travelreels #traveladvisor
    Ready to finally travel more like you always said Ready to finally travel more like you always said in 2023?! Avoid these 3 things and… 

follow @ashleyonthemove_  for more travel tips, travel hacks, and itineraries!

#travelblogger #travelmore #travelinspiration #travelvibes #travelreels #traveladdict #luxurytravel #adventuretravel #womenwhotravel #sheisnotlost #travelcouple
    ——- See ya, 2022! 👏🏻👋🏻 It was a ——-

See ya, 2022! 👏🏻👋🏻

It was a great year: we bought a house, went on tons of weekend trips, visited 2 new countries, and I changed jobs. 

This space grew by about 100%… even though it’s still small I’m proud of the community here! Instagram is easy to get burned out on and even through my wild inconsistency (lol) I’ve made so many new connections and learned a ton. 

The blog grew by over 60%, too! I’ve been much more consistent over the last 5 months and it’s paying off big time. 

But of course, I’ve got huge goals for 2023 and I can’t wait to make them happen. Thanks for being along for the ride!

#travelblog #travelblogger #sheisnotlost #womenwhotravel #travelcommunity #travelwriters #ncliving #pointsandmiles #pointsandmilescommunity
    Plan 👏🏻 ahead👏🏻when👏🏻using👏🏻points!
 
If you really want to maximize your points earnings and use, you need to be thinking about travel 1-2 years out! High ticket items like business class flights and luxury hotels have limited award space… and they go fast. Many hotels and airlines release 360-370 days in advance and award availability goes quick! Like, sometimes same day. 

If you want to book your dream trip with points, you can! Just plan waaaay ahead. Need help figuring out how?! Comment “plan ahead” below so we can chat about what card and points you need for that dream trip!

#pointsandmiles #pointsandmileslifestyle #frequentflyer #luxurylifestyle #luxurytravel #travelhacks #travelhacking #firstclassflight #firstclass #businessclass #businessclassflyer #airportlounge
    Cloud over the Andes mountains in Sale to, colombi Cloud over the Andes mountains in Sale to, colombia 🙌🏻 What was your favorite view of 2022?

#travelblogger #travelviews #luxurytravel #frequentflyer #businessclass #firstclassflight #firstclasstravel #pointsandmiles #travelhacks #colombiatravel #salentoquindio #cocoravalley

    latest pins

    the archives

    trending now

    work with me

    • Travel Design
    • Brands / General Inquiries

    join the club

    Read more

    • home
    • about
    • Blog
    • Contact
    • Work with me
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Blog
    • About

    Copyright © 2023 ashley on the move · Theme by 17th Avenue