The Trinity Site opens to the public this weekend. Here's what you need to know.
People explore "Ground Zero" of the Trinity Site, the spot where soldiers and scientists successfully detonated the worlds first atomic bomb, during an April 1, 2023, open house.
Gabrielle Porter / Journal
Elizabeth Tucker Elizabeth TuckerElizabeth Tucker Journal Staff Writer
PublishedModified
If You Go
Directions to the Trinity Site:
Enter WSMR through its Stallion Range Center gate, located five miles south of U.S. Highway 380.
The turnoff is 12 miles east of San Antonio, New Mexico.
The Stallion Gate is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The site closes promptly at 3:30 p.m.
Another option is to take Alamogordo Caravan, which leaves from the Tularosa Football Field parking lot at 10 a.m.
The caravan will take the first 125 vehicles. For information on the caravan, contact the Alamogordo Center of Commerce at 575- 437-6120.
Bring water and sun protection as there is no shade at the site.
White Sands Missile Range says the Trinity Site will host an open house from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, inviting guests to visit the site where the first atomic bomb was tested.
No reservation is required for this free open house, but "due to the recent release of the movie Oppenheimer, we expect a larger than normal crowd at the event," a news release said.
The release added wait times to get in could be up to two hours.
Visitors can tour the Schmidt/McDonald Ranch House where the plutonium core of the bomb was assembled, and walk a quarter-mile down to ground zero, where a small obelisk marks exactly where the bomb was detonated.
The Trinity Site is only open to the public twice a year, and the next available open house will be April 6, 2024.
What to expect on a visit to New Mexico's Trinity Site
A bomb casing similar to that used to encase the "Fat Man" bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki is on display April 1, 2023, during the Trinity Site Open House at White Sands Missile Range.Gabrielle Porter
Trinity Site visitors read a plaque next to the remains of "Jumbo," a massive steel container that was originally intended to help contain the explosion of "Gadget," the first atomic bomb detonated. That plan was abandoned, and Jumbo was eventually placed under a steel tower about 800 yards from ground zero. "The blast destroyed the tower, but Jumbo survived intact," the plaque said.Gabrielle Porter
Vendors hawk Trinity Site-themed T-shirts, hats and other merchandise April 1, 2023 during the Trinity Site Open House event.Gabrielle Porter
A plaque on display during the Trinity Site Open House shows a military portrait of Navy Captain William "Deke" Parsons, head of ordnance at Los Alamos and one of the witnesses of the Trinity test on July 16, 1945. Parsons was born in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, and was the person who armed the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on the flight to Japan on Aug. 6, 1945.Journal file photo
People explore "Ground Zero" of the Trinity Site, the spot where soldiers and scientists successfully detonated the worlds first atomic bomb, during an April 1, 2023, open house.Gabrielle Porter
Volunteer Jim Eckles, a local author and former member of the White Sands Missile Range Public Affairs Office, fields questions from visitors to the Trinity Site on April 1, 2023.Gabrielle Porter
Signs mark the way to the Trinity Site during an open house on April 1, 2023.Gabrielle Porter
Anti-nuclear bumper stickers festoon the back of a van at the Trinity Site Open House on April 1, 2023. The event drew thousands throughout the day, including both protesters and nuclear enthusiasts.Gabrielle Porter
Trinity Site visitors walk through fencing toward Ground Zero, where the world's first atomic bomb was detonated in 1945.Gabrielle Porter
A "keep out" sign stands behind fencing at Trinity Site. The site is on the White Sands Missile Range, still an active military installment.Gabrielle Porter
What to expect on a visit to New Mexico's Trinity Site: It's sobering and strange – and draws more people than you might think
