For the most part, you’ll have to keep your White Sands National Park tour to the daylight hours. The park closes an hour after the sun goes down, and the rangers are serious about enforcing the rules. If you stay in the park for longer than an hour after sunset, you’ll likely find yourself locked in, and you’ll have to ask one of the rangers to let you out.
You might even be cited for staying after hours, depending on how good your excuse is, so we’d recommend not messing around with the curfew. The reason why the park is so strict about closing hours is that the white sand dunes can be disorienting even during the day, and they don’t want to have to worry about visitors getting lost in the sand after the sun goes down. The desert also gets dangerously cold at night.
With that being said, there are ways to visit the park after sunset. The rangers at White Sands National Park offer guided sunset strolls in the evenings that we highly recommend taking advantage of. These tours are offered daily and at no cost, allowing you to see the park after the sun goes down as well as ask any questions you might have for the ranger.
In the past, White Sands has opened certain areas to backcountry camping, allowing some visitors to spend the night camping out among the dunes. However, all the camping sites are currently closed due to safety concerns and damage to the dunes, with no date yet given for their reopening. If you’re interested in camping at White Sands in the future, we recommend checking the park website regularly until an announcement is made.
To make the most of your trip, check out our White Sands National Park Self-Guided Driving Tour, or you can sign up for Action+ and gain access to over 100 tours for a single yearly price.
Essential Travel Guide:
