Hike Dune Life Nature Trail in White Sands, NM

White Sands National Park was established in 1933 as a national monument, then redesignated as a national park in 2019. The park, which was originally grasslands, lakes and streams, was created about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.

Typical sand that you would find at a beach is composed of silica. The sand at White Sands is almost pure gypsum. Gypsum is different from many other rocks because it is soluble — which means it will dissolve in water like salt. Gypsum is the product of decomposed limestone, so when rain falls on the mountains, the gypsum starts to dissolve and runs down the San Andres Mountains and Sacramento Mountains and into the Tularosa Basin below. 

In the early years, White Sands was a popular picnic spot for locals. Nowadays, it takes on more than 600,000 visitors a year who come for hikes, sledding, photography and other memorable experiences. And if you are wondering, the sand at White Sands does not absorb heat from the sun — unlike traditional sand. The sands remain cool even on the hottest days so walking, rolling or laying in the sand as the hot sun towers above is not an issue. 

The Dune Life Nature Trail hike was our first introduction into White Sands National Park. It’s an easy one-mile hike that is marked by clear trails signs to guide your way around the loop. As long as the heat doesn’t bother you, this is a great hike for people of all ages. 

The start of the trail begins from the spacious parking lot. From there, you walk the narrow sand pathway until you reach the entrance to Dune Life Trail. At the entrance, follow the blue markers and discover all of the natural surprises that Dune Life has to offer. Along the trail you’ll run across signs that tell you about the nature life in the area. If you’re lucky, you could also spy foxes, badgers, rodents, reptiles and birds during your exploration. 

We hiked the trail in about an hour as our mini Christopher Columbus wanted to explore everything. Overall the trail is a very easy hike. Be sure to have water on hand because it gets hot under the sun, and sunglasses on because it’s bright out there. There isn’t much shade — if any — on the hike so know that going into it. Also, remember you’re walking on sand and it’s going to get in your shoes, so if you’re storing cookies in your socks for later you might want to take them out. 

Overall we thought the hike was fun and easy. It was a great introduction to the park and it wasn’t crowded at all. This part of the park is designed more for nature so if you’re looking for a place to sled down or play in the sand, there are far better locations than this one. If you make your way to White Sands National Park, Dune Life Nature Trail has to be on your to-do.