White Sands after dark

The sun going down usually signals the end of the day at White Sands National Park. On a few nights each year, it marks the beginning of an entirely different experience. 

Moonlight Hikes take visitors along the Dune Life Nature Trail after sunset, where the rising full moon reflects from the park’s white gypsum dunes as participants make their way across the landscape with a ranger. The roughly one-mile hike is one of the few opportunities visitors have to remain in the park beyond its regular closing time. 

“It’s almost like a magical glow of the moon that they get to experience at night on that trail,” said Brian Powers, program manager of interpretation and public information officer at White Sands National Park. 

The highly reflective gypsum keeps the landscape surprisingly visible after sunset, Powers said, creating conditions that fall somewhere between daytime and complete darkness. With the Sacramento Mountains in the distance and fewer of the sights and sounds that accompany a typical day on the dunes, the familiar landscape takes on a different appearance. 

“It’s not quite daylight, but not quite darkness,” Powers said. 

That opportunity is limited because White Sands typically closes between 30 minutes and an hour after sunset. The hikes are among the few ranger programs that allow visitors to experience the park later, and demand regularly exceeds the number of available spaces. 

Tickets can sell out within minutes of becoming available, Powers said, with some visitors telling park staff they have tried for months or even years to secure a spot. The next Moonlight Hike, scheduled for Sept. 27, is already sold out, according to Recreation.gov. 

The demand extends well beyond southern New Mexico. Powers said the hikes draw in visitors from Las Cruces, Alamogordo, El Paso, Albuquerque and Ruidoso, along with travelers from across the country and abroad. Some plan larger trips around the chance to attend. 

Once on the trail, participants get more than a nighttime view of the dunes. Rangers can explore topics ranging from nocturnal wildlife and astronomy to interdune ecology, park history and the Tularosa Basin’s connection to space exploration. 

For visitors who arrive thinking of White Sands primarily as a place to climb dunes or go sledding, the program can offer a broader understanding of the landscape. Powers said people are often surprised by the plants and animals that survive there and the depth of the park’s natural and cultural history. 

Nightfall also draws attention to something easily overlooked during the day. Light pollution from surrounding communities can be visible from White Sands, providing an opportunity for rangers to discuss the importance of dark skies and the effects of artificial light on the nighttime environment. 

Powers has attended about a half-dozen Moonlight Hikes or more, but seeing the park under a full moon has yet to lose its appeal. 

“It really never gets old,” Powers said. “It’s one of my favorite programs.” 

The Dune Life Nature Trail is rated moderate and requires hikers to travel across soft gypsum sand and climb dunes. Temperatures can drop quickly after sunset, and visitors should bring water, wear appropriate footwear, and carry additional layers. 

For Powers, the program is ultimately about giving visitors something that stays with them after they leave the dunes. 

“We’re really in the business of making lasting memories of the park,” Powers said. 

That goal comes together as the moon rises over the mountains and begins illuminating a landscape most visitors only see during the day. 

“Just being on that gypsum sand dune, as the full moon rises over the Sacramento Mountains, and illuminates the sky, is a very special opportunity,” Powers said. 

White Sands offers Moonlight Hikes monthly from March through November on nights surrounding the full moon. Tickets are required, with reservations and information about future hikes available through Recreation.gov and the White Sands National Park website at nps.gov/whsa.