How to Get to Trinity Site

    Trinity Site, where the world`s first atomic bomb was exploded in 1945, is open to the public twice a year--on the first Saturday in April and October. No reservations are required.
   Trinity is located on the northern end of the 3,200-square mile White Sands Missile Range, N.M. between the towns of Carrizozo and Socorro, New Mexico. There are two ways of entering the restricted missile range.
   Visitors can enter through the range`s Stallion Range Center which is five miles south of Highway 380. The turnoff is 12 miles east of San Antonio, N.M. and 53 miles west of Carrizozo, N.M. The Stallion gate will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
   Visitors arriving at the gate between those hours will receive handouts and will be allowed to drive unescorted the 17 miles to Trinity Site. The road is paved and marked.
   The second way of entering the missile range is by travelling with a convoy sponsored by the Alamogordo, N.M. Chamber of Commerce. The convoy forms at the Otero County Fairgrounds in Alamogordo and leaves at 8 a.m. Visitors entering this way will travel as an escorted group to and from Trinity Site. The drive is 170 miles roundtrip and there are no service station facilities on the missile range. The convoy is scheduled to leave Trinity Site at 12:30 or 1 p.m., depending on its size, for the return to Alamogordo. The convoy may leave later if there is a large number of vehicles returning to Alamogordo.
   Cameras are allowed at Trinity Site but their use is strictly prohibited anywhere else on White Sands Missile Range.
   Trinity Site consists of ground zero where the atomic bomb was placed on a 100-foot steel tower and exploded on July 16, 1945 and the McDonald ranch house where the world`s first plutonium core fora bomb was assembled. The crater resulting from the explosion has been filled in and a small monument now marks the spot. The missile range provides historical photos and a Fat Man bomb casing for display at ground zero. There are no ceremonies or speakers.
   For more information contact the White Sands Missile Range Public Affairs Office at (505) 678-1134/1700.
  —   Courtesy White Sands Missile Range