White Sands National Monument is one of New Mexico’s most awe inspiring gems. New Mexico local Elizabeth W. Hughes has a few travel tips for your next southwest road trip.
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.When you’re at White Sands National Monument, you’ll feel like you’re on another planet, so it’s not surprising that it takes a while to get there.
If you look at a New Mexico Map, you’ll see that you need to take the long way around all 3,200 square miles of the White Sands Missile range. The good news about this New Mexico road trip is that there are plenty of things to see along the way. Head south down I-25, exit at Rt. 380 and you’re at your first stop, the Owl Café.
If there’s one “traditional” New Mexico food, it’s the green chile cheeseburger. New Mexico even has a Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail you can follow.
Some burgers of course come with more history than others, in particular, the one at the Owl Café, in San Antonio. Basically, we can blame this place for Paris Hilton, sort of. Conrad Hilton’s father owned the bar at the Owl, a gathering spot for those who worked at the nearby Trinity Site. Conrad started at the Owl before moving on to become one of the state’s original legislators in 1912 and found the hotel chain that bears the family name.
Leaving the Owl, follow Rt. 380 on your New Mexico map and on the way to Carrizozo you’ll find a lava outflow created by a volcano 5,000 years ago. The black color of the lava and the jagged sharp edges look inhospitable from the road, but this New Mexico recreation area has hikes, interpretive nature trails and camping. From a vantage point on the short, well-marked nature trail you can see the path of where the lava flowed 44 miles down the valley forming the malpais. Visitors can learn more about America’s youngest lava flow at the Valley of Fires recreation area.
In Carrizozo travelers can continue to head east to Capitan, or turn south toward White Sands. One of my favorite reasons to visit Capitan, especially when traveling with children is the Smokey the Bear Park. It was not until I visited this New Mexico landmark, that I learned there was in fact a “real” Smokey the Bear. According to the museum’s website, the fire safety icon was named for a little bear cub with burned paws that was found in Capitan after a forest fire in 1950.
Whether you journey to Capitan, or not, the final stop on this journey is New Mexico’s most amazing natural wonder, White Sands. The park is 15 miles south of Alamagordo, NM. It’s 275 square miles of gypsum dunes. The bright white Gypsum sand is soft and the dunes are good for sledding. When the wind blows across the dune fields and valleys, it reshapes the dunes forming patterns and waves in the sand. This creates an ethereal playground. It is a harsh desert environment, temperatures are more extreme on the dunes and there is no shade. One of the best ways around this dilemma is to visit at night, preferably under a full moon.
Backcountry campsites are first-come-first-serve and there are also full-moon bike rides sponsored by the park. There are few places in the world that hold such strange and wonderful natural beauty, so don’t skip this New Mexico camping experience.
Always check the nps website for closures and Park Alerts, the park may be closed, or have camping restrictions when there are missile tests scheduled at the adjacent White Sands Missile Range. Campers looking for alternative lodging when White Sands is closed can check out nearby Oliver Lee Memorial State Park.
Photo by MiguelVieira
