• The dunes in soft light

    White Sands

    National Monument New Mexico

  • Closures and Missile Tests

    Upcoming Missile Tests: Friday-Saturday, April 27-28 -- Missile test scheduled on both mornings. Highway 70 will be blocked at Red & Yellow checkpoints. No backcountry camping on Thursday and Friday, April 26 & 27. More »

  • High Winds

    We are in our windy season, so please be aware of possible high winds.

  • Backcountry Camping

    There will be no backcountry camping available the night of Saturday, April 7, 2012.

Park Road Closures

Standing water in the picnic area

While the weather is usually nice, there are times when we get an unusual weather that brings with it a extraordinary amount of rain or snow. During these times, we may have to close all or a portion of the Dunes Drive. Below you will find the current road conditions, updated as needed to reflect current conditions.

 

Today
The Dunes Drive is open.

Did You Know?

Photo of sand avalanching

While the wind piles the sand grains into dunes, the dunes move forward under the force of gravity. As the leading edge of the dune ("slipface") gets steeper, gravity pulls an avalanche of sand down the slipface, moving the dune forward.