Part-Time Paradise

It is, indeed, an interesting area.  I spent quite a bit of time in a tent on the missile range near ground zero.

Rookie TR, but it's a place that we've visited several times.  Seemed worth a shot.  I'm also going to try using Google Photos to link.  Maybe utter failure.  We'll see.
 
First off, I live in El Paso.  It's a short 1 hr 15 min trip to White Sands National Monument (WSNM).  We loaded up the cooler, sleds, sand toys, and lawn chairs for a ride into the desert around 1pm and hit the road.  WSNM is out in the middle of nowhere. If you are approaching from the SW (which I was), the nearest town is Las Cruces is about and hour away.  It's a big town with plenty to eat, shop, RV resupply, etc.  Coming from the NE, it's Alamagordo and is about 20 min away.  It has the essentials, but nothing mind blowing.  WSNM is the only oasis in between.  Get your fuel or potty stop in before you cross into no man's land.  
 
We arrived just after 2pm.  We drove towards the back of the park.  We found a pull out in between the Backcountry camping trailhead and the Heart of Sands picnic area (https://www.nps.gov/whsa/planyourvisit/map-files.htm#UnigridMap).  The two picnic areas have tables with shades on them and some scattered charcoal grills.  Because we wanted to be on our own and were on a cold cut diet, we opted for seclusion.  Once we hit the ground, the kids jumped straight into sledding and playing in the massive sandbox.
 

Prepping the sledding luge.  The NPS plows the sand regularly, so you might want a shovel to make the end of the run a slope instead of a ramp!

Brother still sandbox playing.  Sis making another run on the slopes.

Look out below!
 
Eventually I gave them the idea to dig a huge hole.  Why not?!  Huge hole.
 

FIL and MIL helping the kids start their hole.

A little deeper.

Brother about waist deep.  
 
 
We set up our chairs and table for an easy cold cut sandwich dinner and waited for the sunset.

MIL and DW watching the kids sled on the hill in front of them.

This is the best I could do with my phone, but the sunset and the following twilight were unreal.  The sand and dunes really plays with the light.
 
This place is incredible.  My pictures don't begin to encompass the expanse of the place.  In our prior trips we've hiked some of the trails and the kids picked up their Jr Ranger badges (a program that they absolutely love by the way).  If you want to visit I recommend three things:
-Buy sleds before you get here.  The old saucer sleds are the best.  They'll sell you a new one at the gift shop for $16 and buy it back when you are done for $3-4.  
-Bring baby powder to help removing sand from skin.  The sand is the finest stuff I've ever experienced...on the order of table salt.  It will stick to a kid that's gone A over A on a sled and the baby powder really helps knock the stuff off.
-Pack in food.  There is nothing other than some minor lickies and chewies in the gift shop.  You'll have to drive into Alamagordo to get a full meal.  There is water (for bottles, not RVs) at the gift shop and vault toilets scattered throughout the park.
If you are staying all day, especially in the summer, a canopy for shade wouldn't be a bad idea.  It's super bright from the reflection off the sand.
 
Anyway, we watched the sun go down around 615pm and had to boogie out before the gate locked at 7pm.  Again, we love this place and make the trip up when out-of-town visitors are here or when we get an itch for the beach and/or sledding.
 
Thanks for reading.
 
 
Edit:  I fixed the pictures.  Thanks bdm for the explanation here:  
Edit 2:  I added the distances to the nearest towns.
 
 

Great report, looks like a fun day!