White Sands: 275 Square Miles of Gypsum Snow

Ninety minutes north of El Paso. 275 square miles of pure white gypsum dunes rolling like frozen waves across the Tularosa Basin. The first time you see it you won't believe it. It looks like the Sahara reimagined by someone with one color who chose wisely.

The Dunes Drive goes eight miles into the heart of the field. As you drive deeper, vegetation disappears and the landscape simplifies to white sand and blue sky. The sand is gypsum crystal — cool even in summer, walking barefoot feels like packed flour. The dunes range from gentle slopes to 60-foot ridges. Sunset is when the park earns it: white sand catches every sky color and reflects it back. For twenty minutes the dunes glow as if lit from within, and the horizon dissolves into a colorfield painting Rothko would have envied.

$25 per vehicle. Sunscreen, water, sunglasses — the glare sunburns your nostrils. Buy a sand saucer at the gift shop and sled the dunes like a five-year-old who discovered gravity. The park occasionally closes for missile testing (it borders White Sands Missile Range), so check the website before driving ninety minutes.