🏜️ Canyons & deserts

White Sands National Park

Alamogordo, NM · Tularosa Basin, Southern New Mexico

About

White Sands National Park near Alamogordo, New Mexico, protects the world's largest gypsum dune field, 275 square miles of blinding-white sand that stays cool underfoot even in the desert heat. Drive the eight-mile Dunes Drive into the heart of it, then sled the slopes on a waxed disc or hike the marked Alkali Flat Trail across an ancient lakebed. Time a ranger-led sunset stroll, when the dunes glow pink against the San Andres Mountains.

Highlights

World's largest gypsum dune fieldEight-mile Dunes Drive into the dunesSledding down the white slopesSunset and full-moon ranger hikesAlkali Flat Trail across an ancient lakebed

Getting there

19955 Highway 70 West, Alamogordo, NM 88310

Related places

Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park Canyons & deserts

Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park

Gainesville, FL · North Central Florida

Devil's Millhopper is a 120-foot-deep, 500-foot-wide sinkhole near Gainesville that hides a miniature rainforest where Florida almost never has one. A boardwalk and 132 steps descend past fern-draped limestone walls and trickling cascades to the cool, shaded bowl at the bottom. The seepage waterfalls run strongest in late winter and early spring, when the streams are at their fullest.

Grand Canyon National Park Canyons & deserts

Grand Canyon National Park

Tusayan, AZ · Grand Canyon

One of the world's great natural wonders, the Grand Canyon is a mile deep, up to 18 miles wide, and 277 river miles long, carved by the Colorado River over millions of years. The South Rim is open year round and packs the most accessible viewpoints, lodges, and trailheads, making it the side most visitors choose for a first trip. Sunrise and sunset set the layered red rock walls ablaze, and the sheer scale rewards anyone willing to make the journey.

Zion National Park Canyons & deserts

Zion National Park

Springdale, UT · Southern Utah

Zion National Park is a canyon wonderland in southwest Utah where the Virgin River has carved a deep gorge through towering walls of cream, pink, and red Navajo sandstone. Soaring cliffs, hanging gardens, and slot canyons make it one of the most dramatic and accessible parks in the country, with a free shuttle that carries visitors deep into Zion Canyon. It rewards both casual sightseers and serious adventurers, so it is well worth the trip for almost any traveler.

Part of these collections

Curated guides that feature White Sands National Park.