4 National Parks to visit in New Mexico

New Mexico is a diverse state full of National Parks, Monuments and Historic sites.

According to the National Parks website, there are 15 National Parks in New Mexico with more than 2 million visitors.

These four National Parks are great if you are a local looking for a weekend trip or living out-of-state and planning your visit to the Land of Enchantment.

White Sands National Park

Located in southern New Mexico in the Tularosa Basin, this gypsum dune field is the largest in the world, covering 275 square miles of desert. The park has been the backdrop to many movies over the years. Since snow is rare for the residents of southern New Mexico, many children bring their sleds to White Sands and slide down the dunes for an experience similar to sledding in the snow. The park also has walking tours, exhibits in the visitor center and a junior ranger program. Out on the dunes, there are restrooms, but no running water, so pack accordingly. Pets are welcome in the park.

White Sands is also home to a missile range and Trinity Site, where the atomic bomb was tested, which is only open twice a year.

LOCATION: The park is located off Highway U.S. 70 between at mile markers 199 and 200. The closest cities are Alamogordo, which is roughly a 15-minute drive away, and Las Cruces, which is roughly an hour away.

HOURS: Gates always open at 7 a.m., closing hours changing with the seasons, closed on Christmas

COST:

$25 - private vehicle (Entry fees are valid for reentry for seven consecutive days from date of purchase)

$15 - per person, individuals who enter the park walking or cycling (Entry fees are valid for reentry for seven consecutive days from date of purchase)

$20 - motorcycle (Entry fees are valid for reentry for seven consecutive days from date of purchase)

$45 - Annual entrance pass. This pass admits the pass holder plus three more people in a private vehicle for the period of one year from the month of purchase.

FREE DAYS: Monday Jan. 16, Martin Luther King, Jr's birthday; Saturday, April 22, First Day of National Park Week; Friday, Aug. 4, The Great American Outdoors Act; Saturday, Sept. 23, National Public Lands Day; Saturday, Nov. 11 — Veterans Day

White Sands

Los Alamos Manhattan Project

Los Alamos National Laboratory offered scientists the secluded base of operations needed to complete the first atomic bomb during World War II. The site is built on the rural Pajarito Plateau with canyons cutting through the surrounding landscape, while still being close enough to Santa Fe to give scientists secrecy without cutting them off completely from resources. Los Alamos is one of three communities designated as part of the Manhattan Project, the other two are in Hanford, Washington and Oak Ridge, Tennessee, all are designated as American World War II Heritage Cities.

The town has hiking trails, a visitor center, museums, guided tours that give visitors the opportunity to learn more about the Manhattan Project.

The town is located roughly 35 miles from Santa Fe and 100 miles from Albuquerque.

LOCATION: Visitor Center, 475 20th Street, Los Alamos

HOURS: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday-Monday; Closed Tuesday-Thursday, The visitor center operates with the support of volunteers, hours are subject to change.

COST: Free

10 historical pictures from Los Alamos and Manhattan Project

Manhattan Project employees work on the Gadget in southern New Mexico.

The Calutron Girls separated uranium at Y-12 in Oak Ridge without knowing what they were working on.

A checkpoint to the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos.

The main gate at Los Alamos National Laboratory during the atomic bomb era.

A street scene in Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project.

Houses along Bathtub Row in Los Alamos were the only ones with bathtubs during the Manhattan Project.

Physicist and Navy commander Norris Bradbury, led assembly of the non-nuclear parts of the Trinity

The White House Millenium Council has earmarked $700,000 to save the last remnant buildings of the Manhattan Project to create the A-bomb. This factory for molding and machining high explosives was built at S Site in the early 1940s to withstand accidental explosions but today is falling apart.

Plutonium pits are cast at Los Alamos National Laboratory LANL in 2011 completed the manufacture of the 29th war-reserve-quality plutonium pit for the W88 warhead, as part of the U.S. Stockpile Stewardship Program. The W88 is the backbone of the nation's submarine deterrent force.

Officials from the National Parks Service, the Department of Energy and Los Alamos take a tour of the Oppenheimer House in Los Alamos, Tuesday June 2, 2015. This sculpture of the scientist and LANL director during the Manhattan Project is on the hearth.

Chaco Culture

Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a certified International Dark Sky Park, only the fourth National Park to earn this distinction. The night skies at the park are the same as the Chacoans looked up to thousands of years ago. The park has an online exhibit of the historic artifacts discovered at the historic site, which was continuously occupied for 10,000 year.

Chaco hosts several campgrounds for tent camping and RVs; however, there are no hookups for RVs and generators may only be operated during certain hours.

GETTING THERE: The canyon is located in northwestern New Mexico and can only be accessed by driving on dirt roads, through private tribal lands. The NPS website recommends following its directions rather than maps or GPS services, which sometimes direct drivers to unsafe or private roads.

NPS Directions:

From the north, turn off US 550 at CR 7900–3 miles southeast of Nageezi and approximately 50 miles west of Cuba (at mile 112.5). This route is clearly signed from US 550 to the park boundary (21 miles). The route includes 8 miles of paved road (CR 7900 & CR7950) and 13 miles of rough dirt road (CR7950). The 4 1/2 miles before entering the park are very rough.

From the south, two routes access Chaco from Highway 9, which runs between Crownpoint, Pueblo Pintado, and Cuba. Both routes can vary from very rough to impassable. Not recommended for RVs. If you are traveling from the south, please call ahead for the latest conditions.

Via Hwy 57(Hwy 14 on some maps): This turnoff is located on Highway 9, 13 miles east of Highway 371, at the former Seven Lakes Trading Post. (20 miles of dirt). Note that the signs directing you to turn off of Hwy 371 onto Highway 9 are missing.

Via Pueblo Pintado: At the community of Pueblo Pintado, turn north on Navajo 46 for 10 miles (rough dirt). Turn left on County Road 7900 for 7 miles (some rough dirt). Turn left on County Road 7950, and follow the signs 16 miles to the park entrance (3 miles paved and 13 of rough dirt road).

The northern and southern routes include 13, 20, and 33 miles of dirt roads, respectively. These sections of road are infrequently maintained, and they can become impassable during inclement weather. If you have an RV and are not planning on camping in the park, you may want to leave the RV and drive a car into the park. Call the park at 505-786-7014 for current road conditions.

COST:

Camping: $20.00 per night. Interagency, Senior and Access pass holders pay $10.00 per site, per night.

Entrance Fee: Cashless entry — only credit and debit cards will be accepted for payment.

$25 - private vehicle (Entry fees are valid for reentry for seven consecutive days from date of purchase)

$15 - per person, individuals who enter the park walking or cycling (Entry fees are valid for reentry for seven consecutive days from date of purchase)

$20 - motorcycle (Entry fees are valid for reentry for seven consecutive days from date of purchase)

FREE DAYS: Monday Jan. 16, Martin Luther King, Jr's birthday; Saturday, April 22, First Day of National Park Week; Friday, Aug. 4, The Great American Outdoors Act; Saturday, Sept. 23, National Public Lands Day; Saturday, Nov. 11 — Veterans Day

Chaco Culture

Carlsbad Caverns

Carlsbad Caverns is an underground cave system of more than 119 caves, which formed when sulfuric acid dissolved limestone, leaving behind the caverns. The park recommends wearing closed-toed shoes with good traction, as some areas of the cave are wet from natural water drips and steep. Each evening from late-May through October, there is a ranger program about the Brazilian free-tailed bats living in Carlsbad Caverns that come out at night. To protect the bats, electronic devices are not allowed, this includes cameras, laptop, cell phones, iPads, iPods, tablets and MP3 players.

LOCATION: 727 Carlsbad Caverns Highway, Carlsbad

The park's website recommends reserving tickets online before arriving at the park.

Tickets are based on a timed entry reservation.

COST: $15 – ages 16 and up

Free – 15 and under

Free – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Passes

Carlsbad Caverns