New Mexico Roadtrip to White Sands National Park

New Mexico a surreal place, known mostly for its alien connections, ghost towns, very large array, and the touristy turquoise jewelry mecca Santa Fe. We had seen a few photos of White Sands National Monument (now National Park) and were intrigued by these picturesque white mounds of sand in a region of the country normally associated with red rocks and cacti. That’s why my friends Jennifer (Jenny) and Jennifer (Jenn) and I set out on a road trip from Albuquerque, NM to Whit Sands National Monument.

A house frozen in time in downtown Truth or Consequences

Cacti in T or C

Our Itinerary

Day 1
Fly to Albuquerque, night in ABQ

Day 2
Albuquerque - Truth or Consequences
Riverbend hot springs in Truth or Consequences
Truth or Consequences - Hillsoboro Ghost Town
Hillsboro - Hatch
Hatch - Los Cruces
Night in Los Cruces

Day 3
Los Cruces - White Sands
Night backcountry camping at White Sands

Day 4
White Sands - Santa Fe
Santa Fe - Albuquerque
Night in Albuquerque

Day 5
Early am flight from Albuquerque - San Francisco

Truth or Consequences

After a night in Albuquerque, our first stop was Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. The name alone was enticing enough for a visit. Back in 1950, the radio show named “Truth or Consequences” was trying to get a town to change its name to that of the radio show in exchange for hosting its 10th anniversary episode. Hot Springs, new Mexico took the bait and changed its name permanently. The town has a lovey pie place Passion Pie Cafe and is mostly visited for its hot springs. We rented a private hot spring cabana at Riverbend Hot Springs with a small infinity pool and views of the mountains in the distance. It was around $50 for an hour of the private hot tub when we went, which was well worth our investment. We were able to get a spot right away but you can make reservations which may be recommended to fit with a longer road trip schedule.

Amy, Jenny, and Jenn enjoying the view from our private hot spring cabana.

Riverbend Hot Springs in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico

Buildings in Hillsboro, New Mexico. Many small towns in New Mexico have a ghost town-like quality.

Hillsboro

I was pretty obsessed with the idea of exploring ghost towns and I knew New Mexico was a host to many. The ebb and flow of mining gold and trade created these fluctuating rural establishments that dot the American west and I was curious to see the towns that once thrived. Hillsboro is certainly an example of this. The main street is quite sleepy as one would expect, with a few local establishments but otherwise mostly closed businesses. We did find the town psychiatrist though…

An interesting approach to health care in rural New Mexico.

Adorable looking cafe that is open but happened to be closed when we visited.

Enjoying the vast wide open spaces along the drive.

You know no one is around when you can stop and take photos in the middle of the road like this one.

Hatch

Have you heard of the world famous Hatch green chile? I don’t think we had before our trip but between billboards and the few blogs I had read it seemed like this was a stop not to miss. We’d read the best green chile lemonade was at Sparky’s, so we made our way past the perplexing array of fast food art to check out goods. Between cheesy quesadillas and the green chile lemonade we were able to enjoy Hatch’s finest, and it was delicious although mildly heartburn inducing.

Hatch Green Chile lemonade

Gettin cheesy

Big boy statues greeting us at Sparky’s

The dunes were so beautiful and surreal. We were there on a particularly windy day, so we didn’t get the crisp blue skies you see in a lot of photos, the sky was white with all the sand flying around.

White Sands National Park

The next morning we set out for White Sands National Park, trying to make it there before noon to secure ourself one of the 10 backcountry campsites in the park. When we arrived we were the second or third guests to reserve a spot, and the ranger told us no one had been there the night before ( on a Friday in February). We all agreed that although the desolation of the park is nice, camping in uninhabited sand dunes in the middle of alien country completely alone may have been a bit too other-worldly, so we were glad to have a few other campers in the horizon.

Upon check in for the back country site, they make you fill out a form saying you won’t touch any weird looking objects that may belong to the park’s friendly neighbor, White Sands Missile Range. I can’t say I’ve ever had to fill out a form saying I won’t touch potential missile remnants while backcountry camping before, so I’d say that’s a pretty unique attribute for the park.

The park itself is pretty small and it doesn’t take long to make our way out into uninterrupted rolling white sand dunes. The sand dunes really are like no other place I had ever visited on earth and were absolutely gorgeous to wander and explore. The sand is a lovely bright white set in a valley surrounded by mountain ranges off in the distance. We were there on a pretty windy day so it was often hard to discern the sky from the sand with all the sand blowing around.

Finding a good spot to sled

You can rent wax and sleds from the visitor center. Honestly they didn’t work that well but it was kinda fun still.

Our campsite! There are 10 designated backcountry campsites in the park. It was around 1-1.5 mile walk in the sand to our site, it took us only around 30ish minutes to get there (probably longer taking photos).

Sunset views. We chilled inside our sand dune that was protected from the wind. The other sites are hidden behind other sand dunes so it feels pretty private.

Our tent. It was a pretty cold and windy night in February!

The incredible sunrise was worth braving the cold. It was probably in the 30s when we took these photos. My fingers were cold.

Santa Fe to Albuquerque to Home

After our night of camping, we watched the incredible sunrise and then left rather early (it was real cold). We decided to skip Roswell, since I had heard it’s mostly just alien souvenir shops, and headed to Santa Fe for the afternoon instead. After wandering the streets we headed back to Albuquerque before a super early flight back to San Francisco the next morning. Overall we loved White Sands and would all return, maybe adding in a night in Santa Fe, Taos, or Carlsbad Caverns next time.