White Sands National Park
OutdoorsWalk among white gypsum dunes, try a sledding stop or linger for the evening light. Let the temperature and the day’s gate schedule shape your visit.
- Near
- Alamogordo
- Entrance
- $25 per vehicle, 7 days
Across New Mexico
National parks & monuments
Dunes, caverns, canyon dwellings and wide-open country.
Hiroooooo · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0Begin with New Mexico’s two national parks
Choose a day among the dunes or a walk beneath the desert. White Sands and Carlsbad Caverns offer very different visits, and both fit into a longer southern New Mexico trip.
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Carlsbad Caverns National Park
UndergroundFollow paved paths through limestone chambers, then consider seasonal bat flight above ground. Reserve your cave entry before building the rest of the day around it.
- Near
- Carlsbad
- Entrance
- $15 per person age 16 and up, 3 days
More parks and monuments
Canyon dwellings, volcanic country and places that tell New Mexico’s history. These 13 stops join the two national parks above. Open a place’s fees and access details before adding it to your route.
The NPS New Mexico directory also includes four National Historic Trails, beyond the park places listed here.
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Bandelier
HistoryAncestral Pueblo cliff dwellings in Frijoles Canyon.
Fees & access
- Entrance
- $25 per vehicle, cashless
- Plan for
- Intermittent shuttle on selected weekends and holidays, March 19–October 14, 2026; check the schedule
Chaco Culture
HistoryMonumental Ancestral Puebloan great houses.
Fees & access
- Entrance
- $25 per vehicle, cashless
- Plan for
- None; rough dirt-road approach
Valles Caldera
OutdoorsVast grassland volcanic caldera.
Fees & access
- Entrance
- $25 per vehicle, cashless
- Plan for
- Backcountry driving pass May 15 to November 15
Capulin Volcano
OutdoorsDrivable extinct cinder cone with rim trail.
Aztec Ruins
HistoryGreat house ruins and a reconstructed great kiva.
Petroglyph
HistoryAbout 24,000 petroglyphs on a volcanic escarpment.
El Malpais
OutdoorsLava flows, lava tubes and sandstone bluffs.
Fees & access
- Entrance
- Free
- Plan for
- Free in-person cave permit required; lava tube caves close November 1–April 30
El Morro
HistoryInscription Rock: centuries of carved signatures at a desert waterhole.
Fort Union
HistoryLargest 19th-century frontier fort ruins on the Santa Fe Trail.
Pecos
HistoryPueblo and Spanish mission ruins plus the Glorieta Pass battlefield.
Salinas Pueblo Missions
HistoryThree sites of pueblo and mission ruins.
Gila Cliff Dwellings
HistoryMogollon cliff dwellings at the edge of the Gila Wilderness.
Manhattan Project, Los Alamos unit
HistoryAtomic-history sites in Los Alamos.
Fees & access
- Entrance
- Free
- Plan for
- Visitor center and community sites; laboratory access is restricted and tours have separate arrangements
Make it a two-park trip
Scenic driveConnect White Sands and Carlsbad Caverns through the Sacramento Mountains. Three days leave room for the dunes, the drive and a reserved cave visit.
Our itinerary includes a two-day option, Cloudcroft stops and seasonal bat flight.
Plan before you go
Reservations and shuttles
Carlsbad Caverns: reserve for every visitor, including children and passholders. The $1 reservation is separate from admission.
Valles Caldera: backcountry driving passes operate May 15–November 15. Bandelier: the 2026 shuttle is intermittent on selected weekends and holidays, March 19–October 14. Check the shuttle schedule for your date.
Roads, weather and closures
Check White Sands closures before driving; missile tests can also affect US-70. Plan outdoor walks around the heat.
Chaco’s northern approach includes about 13 miles of rough dirt road, which can become impassable in bad weather. Check current directions and road advice before setting off.
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks
Tent Rocks is managed by BLM. It requires both a Recreation.gov booking and a Cochiti Pueblo Tribal Access Pass; walk-ups are not available.
The BLM ticket is $6 including processing, plus the separate tribal access charge. Regular visits are Thursday–Monday, with a December 15–January 31 winter closure. Check current fees, passes and access before booking.
Using an America the Beautiful pass
The interagency pass covers applicable entrance fees. Reservations, tours and other charges can still apply: Carlsbad’s $1 reservation and the Cochiti Pueblo access pass are separate.
Several parks accept cards only. Check the payment and pass rules for each stop, even if you already have an annual pass.
Questions before you go
How many national parks are in New Mexico?
Two: White Sands and Carlsbad Caverns. This guide also covers 13 monuments, historical parks and a preserve. NPS lists National Historic Trails separately, so these 15 park places are not its entire New Mexico directory.
Which national park should I visit first?
Choose White Sands for open dunes and an outdoor visit, or Carlsbad Caverns for an underground walk. Build the choice around the weather, your route and an available cave reservation.
Can I visit both national parks on one trip?
Yes. A three-day trip leaves room for each park and a drive through the Sacramento Mountains. Two days can work with fewer stops; reserve the cave visit before setting the rest of your schedule.
Do I need reservations?
Carlsbad Caverns requires a timed-entry reservation, including for children and passholders. Valles Caldera backcountry driving and Tent Rocks have their own booking requirements. Check each destination’s official information before travel.
Sources & photo credits
Official visitor information: NPS New Mexico park and trail directory, White Sands fees, White Sands closures, Carlsbad Caverns fees, Cave reservations, Bandelier fees, Bandelier shuttle schedule, Chaco fees, Chaco directions, Valles Caldera fees, Valles Caldera backcountry access, Capulin Volcano fees, El Malpais cave permits, Manhattan Project visitor access, Tent Rocks visitor information.
Photography via Wikimedia Commons. Images resized and cropped for layout; individual credits and reuse licenses are listed below.
View image sources & credits
- Dune grass and sand ripples at White Sands, by Hiroooooo, CC BY-SA 4.0, resized and re-encoded as WebP, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0 reuse terms.
- White Sands at sunset, by dconvertini, CC BY-SA 2.0, resized and re-encoded as WebP, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0 reuse terms.
- Big Room, by NPS / Anthony Mazzucco, Public domain, resized and re-encoded as WebP, via Wikimedia Commons.
- Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument., by Gillfoto, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0 reuse terms.
- Hiker on the lava flows of El Malpais National Monument., NPS Natural Resources photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
- US-82 at its junction with NM-130, by Denver Gingerich, CC BY-SA 2.0, resized and re-encoded as WebP, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0 reuse terms.
Park information checked . Confirm current conditions before traveling.