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This New Mexico National Park was named in the top 8 RV destinations list

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Pods on a yucca plant bend in the wind at White Sands National Monument.

Elizabeth Tucker Elizabeth Tucker Elizabeth Tucker Journal Staff Writer
Published Modified

RVT.com, an RV travel blog, has named White Sands National Park to its list of 8 Sensational Spring Break Destinations.

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. While snow is rare in the area, many children bring their sleds to White Sands and slide down the dunes for an experience similar to snow sledding. The park also has walking tours, exhibits in the visitor center and a junior ranger program. On the dunes, there are restrooms, but no running water, so pack accordingly. Pets are welcome in the park.

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

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

HOURS: Gates open at 7 a.m., closing hours change 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

Yucca plants grow on the dunes of White Sands National Monument outside of Alamogordo, which was one of New Mexico’s highest-growing city’s in 2023, according to a U-Haul report.
Dune climbers footprints are highlighted by the sun at White Sands National Monument.
With sleds in hand, Mark Heltman, 9, and his father Greg Heltman, both of Albuquerque, climb a dune at the White Sands National Monument in a 2007 file photo.
A lone hiker strikes out across the dunes of White Sands National Monument, with the San Andres Mountains in the background.
A group of soldiers walk past water misters placed along the Bataan March course to keep them cool Sunday April 14, 2002 at White Sands Missile Range. More than 4000 runners and walkers joined March survivors to commemorate the 60th Anniversary on April 14, 2002.
Ripples of gypsum sand caused by high winds at White Sands National Monument.
With sleds in hand, Mark Heltman, 9, and his father Greg Heltman, both of Albuquerque, climb a dune at the White Sands National Monument on Thursday, August 23, 2007
Balloons at the White Sands National Monument near Alamogordo, N.M., on Saturday morning, Sept. 19, 2009, during the 18th annual White Sands Balloon Invitational.
Pods on a yucca plant bend in the wind at White Sands National Monument.
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