Accessibility

Wheelchair and stroller accessible, the Interdune Boardwalk gives visitors the opportunity to travel through the dunes on a solid boardwalk surface.

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White Sands National Park strives to make the park inviting and accessible to all visitors. We offer several services for those with mobility impairments as well as those who are hearing or visually impaired.

 

How to Navigate the Visitor Center and Gift Shop

Restrooms

The main restrooms located next to the visitor center structure are open from 9:00 am to 5:00pm.

Visitor Center

The visitor center structure has two entrances, one from the south parking lot and the other form the interior courtyard. The spacing between merchandise fixtures exceeds 36 inches wide, with the proper turnaround radius at cash registers. Park rangers are available to answer questions.

Gift Shop

The gift shop has two entrances, one from the visitor center courtyard and the other are double doors facing the north parking lot. The interior of the gift shop is three rooms with merchandise fixtures placed on the floor. The spacing between merchandise fixtures exceeds 36 inches wide, with the proper turnaround radius at cash registers.

 

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Access Pass

The Access Pass grants lifetime admission and other discounts to U.S. citizens or permanent residents with documentation of permanent disability. This pass is your ticket to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites. Each pass covers entrance fees at national parks and national wildlife refuges as well as standard amenity fees (day use fees) at national forests and grasslands, and at lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A pass covers entrance, standard amenity fees, and day use fees for a driver and all passengers in a personal vehicle at per vehicle fee areas (or up to four adults at sites that charge per person). Children age 15 or under are admitted free.

 

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Wheelchair Accessibility

For those with mobility impairment, the visitor center and gift shop are all wheelchair accessible. In the museum, all exhibits are accessibility compliant, being the correct height and width to accommodate wheelchairs.

Along the Dunes Drive, the Interdune Boardwalk is a 0.4 mile (650m) wheelchair-accessible trail that leads to the top of a dune with excellent interpretive plaques that showcase interdunal life. Select picnic tables and vault toilets along Dunes Drive are also wheelchair-accessible.

For our full moon nights and other special events that take place in the dunes, an accessibility ramp is provided for visitors with wheelchairs, strollers, walkers, and other wheeled devices.

 

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Service Animals

Service animals are allowed in all facilities and on all trails unless an area has been closed by the superintendent to protect park resources.

 

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Open Captioned Orientation Film

The visitor center orientation film has open captions. These captions are not turned on or off so every film showing will have them present.

 

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Audio Description

The visitor center exhibits as well as orientation film are audio described in English and Spanish. The audio description for the exhibits operates through Orpheo guides that can be checked out at the visitor center information desk. If you would like to have the orientation film be audio described please ask a ranger at the visitor center information desk to start a showing with the audio description.

 

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Large Print English and Spanish Park Brochure and Map

Offered in English and Spanish, the large print brochure assists visitors who may have difficulty reading the small print on the park brochure. You may pick up the large print brochure at the visitor center or download a PDF of this file in English or Spanish.

 

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Braille Brochure BRF

This Braille version of our park brochure provides basic information on the park including history, rules, and things to do. This brochure contains information in both English and Spanish. It is in BRF format and can be used with common braille reading devices or braille printers.