White Sands National Park | Sledding the Dunes | Alamogordo, New Mexico
Whether hiking, sledding, or just casually walking amongst the dunes of White Sands, this New Mexico National Park will awe and inspire visitors with its glittering white gypsum sand.
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The brilliant white color of White Sands National Park comes from the mineral gypsum. Several hundred million years ago when the continents were much different than today, oceanic water rose and fell in level leaving a rich deposit of gypsum in the area. Over time, the upward thrust or mountains and widening faults of plates moved, and rainfall carried the gypsum into basins trapping it there.
Over time the basins dried leaving behind selenite crystals. Wind, erosion, and time did their job over time, breaking down the crystals into small particles of sand. Northeast winds pushed the sand creating the iconic desert dunes onto the dunefield we see today. In fact, the size of the dunefield combined with its pale color can be seen from outer space!
White Sands was designated a National Monument in 1933 by Herbert Hoover, and quite recently in 2019 was established as a National Park. Since then the park has remained incredibly popular among visitors. 34,000 people visited in the first year and today, an estimated 600,000 people visit to gaze at the rolling dunes of gorgeous white sand.
One of the most popular activities one can do while visiting White Sands is sledding down the dunes. Located in the visitor center are blue plastic disc sleds that one can purchase for use. This activity is great fun for people of all ages and not to be missed! Just remember to grab a piece of wax while making your purchase as this makes the sledding experience much more enjoyable. Without the wax, the sleds tend to drag in the sand a bit and will not go as fast.
Due to the proximity to White Sands Missile Range, guests of the park are advised to check online for closures. The visitor center and gift shop still remain open during testing, however, the road into the dunefield may close for up to three hours.
VIDEO FILMED: 06/11/2021
▬▬ L O C A T I O N I N F O ▬▬
⚪ White Sands National Park - www.nps.gov/whsa/index.htm
⚪ Directions to White Sands National Park - goo.gl/maps/SMPjdA6UGgz6bDXP8
▬▬ T I M E S T A M P S ▬▬
00:00 Intro & Info
01:08 Visitor Center
02:30 Driving to the Dunes
04:00 Dune Life Nature Trail
07:15 Interdune Boardwalk
09:10 Road to Sledding
09:49 Seeking the Perfect Dune
13:02 Sledding the Dunes
15:41 Sunset at White Dunes
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Welcome to the Cactus Atlas! We are Glenn and Amy and invite you to join us as we visit all sorts of locations across the American West. We tour both natural and man-made attractions.
Our base of operations is in the Phoenix, AZ area. We do a lot of hiking and day trips as well as campground reviews, and hope that we will be a great resource if you are planning a trip to the American West. We also hope to delight you with our exciting adventures!
Пікірлер: 49
That looks like a ton of fun. We plan on heading out that way in October and never thought about sledding on the dunes before. Definitely going to try it. White Sands looks so beautiful.
@CactusAtlas
3 жыл бұрын
Oh you definitely have to try it! It's so much fun. Just make sure you wax the sled really well each run. You can tell what a difference it makes not reapplying on the second slide down. MUCH slower.
The Dune life trial is awesome. So white and the skies look, lovely. The boardwalk is very don't convenient. Omg we just sandboarded in Huacachina, Peru. Great video. Love the sunset 🌇
@CactusAtlas
3 жыл бұрын
The boardwalk is super convenient as walking on dunes can really take it out of ya! 😅
As always, an A+ job! Your narrations are always a joy. It is so refreshing to see such a kind hearted soul.
@CactusAtlas
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for the kind comment!
Beautiful place ❤️👍
@CactusAtlas
3 жыл бұрын
It really is! Thanks for visiting.
peaceful escape
This amazing thank you so much for bringing me along💯 👍 I appreciated and I hope there so on 😊💗
@CactusAtlas
3 жыл бұрын
So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching! 😄
Very nice 👍 next time I go that way I’ll have to stop and check it out 😀
@CactusAtlas
3 жыл бұрын
You totally should! It's a fun place! You know, in addition to be being beautiful. 😄
@SomeplaceOrAnother
3 жыл бұрын
@@CactusAtlas almost did on my last trip but went north instead
That sledding looks so fun
@CactusAtlas
3 жыл бұрын
It's a blast! You should absolutely give it a shot if you visit the park.
wow what a beautiful park!
@CactusAtlas
3 жыл бұрын
It really is! Thanks for watching!
I loved this place when I went. You can't wrap your mind around how vast it is until you see it.
@CactusAtlas
Жыл бұрын
It really does seem that way. Easy to get a bit turned around too. 😅
Great wee jaunt today buddy! Quite the trek in that heat looks like. The landscape really is stunning out there. Must give the sleds a go sometime, weeeeeeeeeeeeee 😏
@CactusAtlas
3 жыл бұрын
Haha! Yeah, the heat and walking up the dunes really took it out on him that day. Thanks for watching our video! 😄
Thanks for the video. Sledding looked fun. I was waiting for a Spaceballs combing the desert reference, it made me think of that.
@CactusAtlas
3 жыл бұрын
Oh man. Been too long since I've seen that movie! If we hit up Imperial Sand Dunes we'll have to bring a comb. 🤣
One of your absolutely best video. Some beautiful pictures of the sunset and dunes. Outstanding use of music. Wonderfully fun video. Thank you
@CactusAtlas
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you so very much! 😊
We did sand sledding years ago in west Texas at Monahans sand dunes. Not nearly as big as WS, but still so fun. It was fun to go along on this trip, and the music was extra cool in this episode!
@CactusAtlas
Жыл бұрын
Thanks! Every now and again it is fun to go a little more left field and have fun with the music when I edit. 😅 I think we finally got rid of the sled sadly. It's a shame. There's more dunes out there but it doesn't get much use out here in the desert homestead. 😂
I thoroughly enjoyed your video!!😍😍 the evening skies look gorgeous! And cool to see your surprise with the explosions!! I am also glad they’ve kept that area pretty untouched.
@CactusAtlas
3 жыл бұрын
I loved it! Can’t wait to return back to New Mexico in the future!
@SwiftyTravels
3 жыл бұрын
@@CactusAtlas yay!!
Absolutely amazing video. Loved your adventures. Sliding was so much fun to watch. Dunes are favorites of mine. This place is one of the largest in the US. Been to Coral pink, Kelso, Mesquite dunes and haven’t got a chance to go to White sands. But I went virtually with you today. Thanks for taking us along. Sunset and sunrise at the dunes is always spectacular. My channel started from the dunes at Death Valley :)
@CactusAtlas
3 жыл бұрын
Kelso is on our list and passed by it twice now. Hopefully one day soon! Thanks for watching and the kind comment. 😊
I've never heard of this park. Thank you for sharing. Hi, your new friend here 😃
@CactusAtlas
3 жыл бұрын
It's a stunning park. Welcome! 👋
@linhandcalvin7109
3 жыл бұрын
@@CactusAtlas yes. I want to visit that park one day. 💕🤗
Beautiful shots of the dunes and sunset! Looks like you survived quite nicely. By the way, I miss the Mariachi music at the end of your episodes.
@CactusAtlas
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks so much! And truthfully... sometimes we miss it too. One could still catch up randomly humming it around the house. 😅
Another good video, the music at the 8:30 mark sounded like 70"s porno music! Awesome!
@CactusAtlas
3 жыл бұрын
😂🤣😂🤣 Oh man..! 🤣
How hot was it there, I might want to go here during early spring or winter
@CactusAtlas
3 жыл бұрын
The high was 102 the day this video was filmed (June 11). Typically in the summer the temps range from mid to upper 90s to around 100 degrees.
@Pixics
3 жыл бұрын
@@CactusAtlas Not as bad as Death Valley
@CactusAtlas
3 жыл бұрын
Doesn't seem that way. I checked just now and the hottest recorded temp there was 111 degrees. So hot but not Death Valley hot. 😂
@Pixics
3 жыл бұрын
@@CactusAtlas yikes
When you said you had a fright I thought you found like a scorpion or something. Nah just high yield explosives from the sky. No big deal.
@CactusAtlas
3 жыл бұрын
Honestly, a scorpion would be pretty terrifying out there. Or a giant flying explosive one. 😂
You should WEAR A HAT (or carry an umbrella) and carry water. People do die there! A whole family from France died a couple years ago because they did not carry enough water. They se plos to move the sand on the road there. The whole park is actually traveling over time, it moves over time.
@CactusAtlas
3 ай бұрын
Living in Arizona for years, we're pretty accustomed to how important carrying water is. 😅