NPS Photo
White Sands National Park
Tonight at White Sands National Park
Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the world's largest gypsum dunefield. White Sands National Park preserves a major portion of this unique dunefield, along with the plants and animals that live here.
Weather & conditions
Temperatures at White Sands vary greatly throughout the year. Summer time temperatures can be very hot. Winters are mild with cool evenings. Spring time is the windy season. Fall is very enjoyable with mild daytime and night time temperatures.
What this latitude gives you
From 32.8° north, anything above declination +57.2° is circumpolar here: it never sets, so it is available on every clear night of the year. Anything below declination -57.2° never clears the horizon at all.
Astronomical darkness lasts through every night of the year here, including midsummer, which makes this a rare site for a June or July imaging trip.
We do not hold a measured Bortle class for this site, so treat the sky as unknown until you have taken a reading of your own.
Where to stay near White Sands National Park
Hotels, cabins, lodges and holiday rentals within reach of these coordinates, for the nights you have chosen above. We earn a commission if you book through this map, at no extra cost to you. It does not change what you are shown: nothing here is ordered, promoted or paid for. How the site is paid for.
- Address
- 19955 Hwy 70 W, Alamogordo, NM 88310
- Phone
- 5754796124
- Coordinates
- 32.7791, -106.3333
- Official site
- nps.gov