Leaving Carlsbad, NM, we journeyed southwest to El Paso, Texas, then headed north to Alamogordo, NM, near White Sands National Park. This 4-hour drive took us through three time zone changes—Mountain Time to Central Time and back to Mountain Time—leaving us slightly bewildered about the actual time.
We departed a rather underwhelming but serviceable campsite in Carlsbad, only to be rewarded with one of the trip’s most stunning spots: Oliver Lee Memorial State Park. I’ve noticed that state park campgrounds often surpass those in national parks in terms of amenities, but there’s no substitute for staying within the park when visiting a national treasure.
The campsite at Oliver Lee featured spacious sites with breathtaking views of the valley, complete with water and electricity hookups. Our first night greeted us with a spectacular sunset, perfectly timed just after we finished setting up.
Hiking in the National Park felt a bit like going to another planet. It could certainly have been a great backdrop for an episode of Star Trek and be quite believable. The sand was so fine and beautiful, and the dunes were huge, which made them hard to climb up and very fun to run down.
White Sands is located just outside the small town of Alamogordo. Since we were in New Mexico, it only felt right to enjoy some authentic Mexican food. We found a cozy little hole-in-the-wall restaurant with delicious dishes at incredibly affordable prices—our entire meal cost just $18!
Later that week, we took a scenic drive up to Cloudcroft, NM, but not before making a pit stop at PistachioLand—the ultimate shrine to pistachio kitsch! How could we resist? Naturally, we had to grab a bag of dill pickle-flavored pistachios to add to our growing collection of road trip snacks. It was a quirky little detour, but totally worth it! 🌟🥜
What a difference a 45 minute drive can make up in the mountains. From white sands to white snow.
We had a beautiful hike with amazing views of the white sands down in the valley.
After our hike, we indulged in some tasty microbrew beer and what felt like the most delicious pizza we had ever tasted—or maybe we were just crazy hungry after the hike?
Finally, we did a hike right outside our campground on Dog Canyon Trail. This hike offered a wonderful view of the campground and a gorgeous view of the canyon. It was a tough hike, which required some ibuprofen when complete.
The trail concluded in a distinctive high meadow, characterized by an expansive flat area filled with trees, grass, and various plant species. It appeared entirely unlike the rest of the hike.
We had a delightful week in the White Sands region. The diverse landscape within such a compact area was quite astonishing.
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