• The dunes in soft light

    White Sands

    National Monument New Mexico

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  • Closures and Missile Tests

    Upcoming Missile Tests: From time to time the missile range that surrounds us performs missile testing that may require the closure of the park or Highway 70. Please follow the link below for up to date information on closures More »

Adventure Packs

Junior Ranger Adventure Packs Are Here!

Would you like to learn about the animals of White Sands National Monument while exploring the dunes? Then our adventure packs are just the thing-and they FREE to use!

Just have your parents stop by the visitor center and ask if we have one available for loan. The ranger will ask them to fill the necessary form for borrowing the packs and then you're on your way to adventure!

Each Junior Ranger Adventure Pack contains:

  1. A backpack
  2. Binoculars
  3. Animal tracks fold-out guide
  4. Compass
  5. Flashlight
  6. Adventure tool
  7. Desert Survival Guide
  8. New Mexico birds fold-out guide
  9. Desert Life book
  10. Easy Field Guide - Snakes
  11. Easy Field Guide - Birds
  12. Easy Field Guide - Insects
  13. Easy Field Guide - Mammals

Once you've finished exploring the dunes for the day, just bring the adventure pack and its contents back to the visitor center where a ranger will check it back in with your parents.

For more details, give us a call at (575) 479-6124 ext. 236.

Did You Know?

Photo of yucca growing on a dune

Some species of plants can survive burial by a moving dune by a process called "stem elongation." As the sand rises, the plants quickly grow upward to keep their leaves above the rising sand.