14 TIPS FOR WHITE SANDS NATIONAL PARK - Activities & Must-Know's For Visiting These Amazing Dunes!

White Sands National Park is such a fun place to visit!!!
In this video, I share 14 IMPORTANT tips to make sure your trip to White Sands is the best it can be!
Last spring, I went to White Sands National Park with two of my girlfriends, and we had a blast exploring the terrain and sledding down the dunes!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND visiting if you’re in New Mexico!
That said, there are definitely some important things to know in order to stay safe, hydrated, dry, fed, and happy while you’re there.
It’s actually one of the newest US National Parks, and was promoted from White Sands National Monument to having a true National Park designation on December 20, 2019. As with all of the other parks, you can use your America The Beautiful Pass to enter!
Hope you find this video helpful for planning your visit! Cheers, and happy travels!
-Eliz
Means To Travel Founder
#MeansToTravel
Note: Product links below may be affiliate links, where Means To Travel LLC might make a small commission if a purchase is made.
◆ Mentioned In Video:
• White Sands National Park Closures Website: www.nps.gov/whsa/planyourvisi...
• White Sands National Park: www.nps.gov/whsa/index.htm
• White Sands Motel: www.thewhitesandsmotel.com/
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◆ About This Video:
Filmed & Edited by Eliz Armstrong Zacarias at Means To Travel LLC
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#travel #newmexico #visitnewmexico #traveltips #whitesands #whitesandsnationalpark #whitesandsnps #nps #nationalparks

[@MeansToTravel]

Be sure to hit the like button! We're so grateful for your likes, subscriptions, and shares! 👍🙏 Do you have any additional tips for visiting White Sands National Park in New Mexico? Feel free to share them in a comment below!!! 😀👇

[@lindawalker1517]

Hello! I am 68 years old, living in Cincinnati, Ohio, but grew up in El Paso, Texas our parents Took us to wife and every summer since the age of seven I’m sure, so it was 61 years ago when I first saw those magical looking picnic tables with the arching awnings. Everything was magical as a child. I remember climbing descendants and the cool sand touching my feet, where the sun had not heated it up. I loved to look at the ripples in the sand due to the wind breezing across the surface. One time we went, and the wind was so strong that my parents had to make the awful decision to pack up our picnic lunch in the trunk and turn around and go back home. There were two very disappointed children in the backseat, traveling all the way back to El Paso. As a big treat in 1962 I think they took us to a restaurant in Alamogordo to make up for our loss that day. Years later, as a teen, we would get together several of us and go sand surfing. Our surfboards were small planks of wood with Formica on the bottom side, which we waxed and shined with some of the gipsyn our hand. I am surprised now that none of us fell and broke our necks surfing down the highest sand dunes we could find. Bare feet on a sanded bear wood tiny board but we got very good at it. There were very little cautionary instructions that I can remember about white sense even at the tourist center. I do remember there being films in the center explaining the history of white Sands so that must still be there if not updated. Again, it was all pretty magical. One of my fondest memories was that my mother, for some reason, would make strawberry shortcake and serve it on those old picnic tables when she died, at her deathbed, for some crazy reason, I remembered that about her And how she made going to white sands so much fun. Well, this is an old lady signing off after walking down a little bit of memory lane.

[@MeansToTravel]

Hi Linda - I'm actually typing this while in a suburb of Cincinnati right now, so small world! That said, I'm so glad to hear your wonderful memories of visiting White Sands while you were growing up. It's reading comments like yours that make creating these videos so rewarding for me - I'm really glad to have brought back some good memories for you. And I loved learning that you guys used to use surfboards instead of sleds - what fun that must have been! Lastly, I just want to say that your name made me smile because, as I'm sure you know, it's the Citibank credit card name! I hope it has been fun to see your name in citibank ads over the years!!!

[@metarus208]

thanks Eliz ... appreciated it

[@MeansToTravel]

So glad you enjoyed the video! Hope you enjoy your visit to White Sands! 😀🙌🏻

[@FirstPrinciplesFirst]

Thank you for this guide

[@MeansToTravel]

So glad you enjoyed it!

[@ashokan134]

Thanks. Very informative!

[@MeansToTravel]

So glad you enjoyed! Thanks for watching! 😀

[@Make-n-Media]

Awesome tips thank you!

[@MeansToTravel]

So glad you liked the video! Thanks for watching! 😀🙏🏻

[@kathryngabriel3605]

Just visited two days ago. Perfect weather and a different experience on each day there. Highly recommend multiple visits at different times. Backcountry trail is supercool. Sledding was a bust for us lol. Saw a stink bug out there and lots of lizard tracks in the sand. The sand feels soooo good on bare feet! Great video!

[@MeansToTravel]

So glad to hear that you loved your visit!!! Thanks for watching and sharing your experience, too! 😀

[@hbpsalm2350]

I enjoyed your video and found it very helpful when we go visit!!

[@MeansToTravel]

So glad to hear!!! Have a great time!

[@hbpsalm2350]

@@MeansToTravel Thank you so much! Can't wait!

[@maraspeakwiks9872]

great video ❤

[@MeansToTravel]

Thanks! So glad you liked it!! 😀

[@thegallivanthropologists]

Really great tips. One of the few parks I have yet to hit. We will def be here on our UNESCO RTW drive. Thanks for sharing and all the kind support on our channel in the past. I hope you like our new name. - Bear

[@MeansToTravel]

That sounds like such a fun trip!!! Thanks for watching, and of course! Hope you have THE BEST time!

[@hawkeyeintx]

I was born and raised in Alamogordo. White Sands was a frequent playground growing up. You did a great job with the recommendations! Spot on!

[@MeansToTravel]

It's always such a pleasure to get comments like this one from locals! Thanks so much for watching, and leaving this nice note! 😀

[@barbaracummings3899]

I have been to the White Sands many times. My favorite memories are celebrating the Fourth of July in the 1950’s when the park had fireworks. We would lay on the dunes watch beautiful bursts of fireworks. I moved away so I don’t know when they stopped the fire works but I have great memories of them and other visits to the sands.

[@MeansToTravel]

Oh wow that's so neat to hear that they used to do fireworks there! Do locals just call it The Sands? I gotta know! 😀

[@paulmatulavich7321]

My only suggestion for this video would be a freeze frame of the park sign showing its informative tips (some bits seen briefly here). Would like to know how a person prevents getting lost among the furthest dunes if there is no gps. Thanks.

[@MeansToTravel]

Thanks for watching! Feel free to pause the video on those parts, and also definitely check the park’s website for all of that type of extremely useful info! 😀

[@annaburch3200]

I'd heard of this park, but never seen anything about it. Fascinating!! Thank you for educating us! 😊👍

[@MeansToTravel]

Thanks Anna! 😊😀 Hope you’ll get to visit someday, it’s a very cool place!

[@Paunaldo]

Trying to go there this year - so I have a few questions , 1. how far are the campsite from the parking spots …. 2. what if you need to use a toilet 3. If I were to go on September 20, how early or late should I reserve the camp spot

[@MeansToTravel]

These are fairly specific questions, so I'd say to perhaps reach out to KOA and ask! I personally haven't camped at White Sands and instead just stayed at a motel in Alamogordo. My understanding is that backcountry and RV camping at the park is currently prohibited. The little huts next to the parking lots in this video have bathrooms but no shower facilities. Hope this helps!

[@etherdog]

Last year PBS had a special on finding human footsteps over 22,000 years old in White Sands Nat'l Park. Did the Visitor Center have any information on that? I think I mentioned this in a comment shortly after the special aired.

[@MeansToTravel]

I think you did, too! I don't recall much info on those footprints during my visit, but I googled it and it sounds like they were really recently discovered - so cool! It's crazy that those footprints are significantly older than the white sand dunes themselves.

[@chrisdemarco1628]

You mentioned that you were there in March- rain aside, did you have comfortable temperatures? We're thinking about visiting in early April.

[@MeansToTravel]

Hey there! It kinda depends where you're visiting from, since coming from Chicago I thought it was pleasant, but my family who lives in Tucson would have found it a little chilly. That said, I visited during the last week of March, and the temperatures were in the 60sF (and cooler at night). At this point in time, I'd recommend looking at the weather averages for that timeframe on Accuweather, and then right before your visit, I'd look at the real weather forecast to make sure you're packing what you'll need! Have fun!

[@rogerclark9285]

Monsoon rains can start as soon as June 20th. March through May is when the winds are the worst.

[@MeansToTravel]

Good to know the seasonal weather to be mindful of, thanks! I felt so lucky to be filming in late March when it wasn't very windy!

[@theresabigwideworld2632]

I've never heard of this National Park and it looks like a fascinating place to visit! Lots of good information. I only have polarised sunglasses, bright sunshine and glare basically reduces my eyes to squinty little slits! I even have the 'emergency sunglasses' stashed in my car, work bag and the occasional jacket pocket when I've forgotten I've put sunglasses there!

[@MeansToTravel]

I have the same issue with very bright sunshine! Not sure if you have blue eyes like me, but my eye doctor told me that lighter eyed people are much more sensitive to sunlight and told me that I definitely needed polarized lenses. Derek has brown eyes and over the years we've seen first-hand how much better brown eyes can handle sunshine since I'm always squinting a TON!

[@costasworldofmusicmemories5792]

Harriet and I have never been. At some point this year we will visit New Mexico . We have a friend that lives there. We will take in the White Sands National Park. Great tips to know. We don't like surprises. Hope you guys are doing well. Sending you much love🥰🥰🥰 from Richmond, Va. Harriet, Jim and Yuki

[@MeansToTravel]

So fun that you'll be in New Mexico this year!!! Are you planning to visit Albuquerque or Santa Fe on the trip, too? Thanks for watching the video and hope it was helpful with your planning! Cheers, guys! 😀

[@costasworldofmusicmemories5792]

@@MeansToTravel We are . A full Tour.

[@yagoartazaparamo3474]

Is there potable water?

[@MeansToTravel]

Unfortunately not! You’ll have to bring lots of water into the park

[@user-zo4ri2dk4k]

Did you know White Sands was a state park and you could drive on the dunes and camp overnight? Congress made it a Nation Monument and later it became a National park.

[@MeansToTravel]

I did know that it used to be a state park, but I had no idea you could camp on the dunes! Wow! Was allowing camping there risky for the ecosystem? After visiting, I’m not surprised that it isn’t allowed anymore in case people littered. Did you get to camp there back in the day?

[@user-zo4ri2dk4k]

@@MeansToTravel Yes, I was only 8 years old when my family went camping at White Sands. We drove over the dunes to a spot that had a cottonwood tree for shade. I remember my parents joined a search party to find a lost hiker on another trip to the dunes. After the change to a National Monument the rules got very strict.