Driving from Carlsbad Caverns to White Sands
The drive from Carlsbad Caverns to White Sands is a breathtaking 3-hour trip through the Lincoln National Forest, cutting across Cloudcroft, NM, a lush mountainous area with an elevation of 8,600 feet.
Our home base for visiting the sands is Alamogordo, New Mexico, where we camped for two nights.
Cloudcroft, New Mexico
They call it Cloudcroft because you are literally in the clouds when you get out of your car. We stopped at Fernando’s Burritos in the caboose, and the food was spot on. Get the green chile chicken burrito with chorizo.
KOA Journey/White Sands, Alamogordo New Mexico
Excellent WiFi, DVD movie selection, ping-pong table, playground, and a pool to cool down after a long day on the dunes. The right combination to spend a few hours at camp during the hottest part of the day.
Local jam band hits KOA on Friday night at 5ish. Here we gathered to sing along to some good ole country western songs with the local band. Best flat pickers in Alamogordo for sure.
White Sands National Park
White Sands has a long history starting almost 10,000 years ago with human habitation. The mysterious Mogollon people inhabited it up until about 1250, then mysteriously disappeared. The Apache came in 1450 and then Americans eventually settled in the 1800s. It became America’s first missile and bomb testing area in the 1940s and was the site of a nuclear blast.
As you may recall on our trip to Great Sand Dunes of Colorado, having visited both we can say the following:
White Sands is much cooler to the touch and won’t burn your hands
They sled better with lightweight sleds than Colorado, where you need to rent heavier sand boards. And are even better wet!
Both are superb!
The best way to enjoy the dunes is on a snow toboggan or disc. KOA will check them out to you for free for the duration of your stay.
It is the largest gypsum dune field in the world, over 275 square miles of dunes. The best time to enjoy it is in the evening for one of the most magnificent sunsets you have ever seen, or early in the morning when it is cooler.
With temps reaching over 100 degrees, it was important to our own safety that we manage our heat exposure. The reflection from the gypsum white sands combined with the sun from above makes for a blinding combo during the midday sun.
The famous Hatch chile is available practically everywhere in New Mexico. It is quite delicious when roasted and can be very spicy.
With an amazing trip to White Sands behind us, we head to Gila Cliff Dwellings and Petrified Forest National Park!
