Alkali Flat Sledding Area

Alkali Flat Sledding Area is the sledding pull-in at the end of Dunes Drive, where the parking area is cut into tall gypsum dunes. These are among the tallest dunes reachable from the road, and their steeper faces can give practiced riders a fast run. Sand isn't as slick as snow, so pick a gentler slope with a level, clear runout, especially on your first try. Use a waxed plastic saucer and ride seated or lying feet-first. Keep the runout clear of roads, parked cars, plants, hard sand clumps and other obstacles; never stand or go head-first.

The lot sits right at the dunes, but fresher sand and a little more privacy can be a few dunes farther in. Walking through unpacked sand takes effort, and every run leaves you with a climb back up before the next one. From the taller dunes near the trailhead, the view opens over the white field and the surrounding mountains, a worthwhile pause between rides.

The sledding area is at the end of the 8-mile Dunes Drive, about a 25-minute drive from the entrance; you'll return the same way. Half the road is paved and half packed gypsum, and weather or White Sands Missile Range testing can affect access, so check park alerts before you go. Sledding needs no reservation, but a park entrance pass is required.

The parking area has space for standard and oversized vehicles and one vault toilet, but no shade. There is no drinking water out in the dunefield, so fill up at the visitor center first. The shop there rents or sells sleds and has grab-and-go sandwiches, snacks and drinks. The loose sand and steep grades make the trailhead and dunes inaccessible to visitors with mobility limitations. Dogs are allowed on leads no longer than six feet.

The white dunes are gypsum, not quartz sand. Their mineral story starts with gypsum deposited on the floor of a Permian sea. Later faulting formed the Tularosa Basin, and the Rio Grande blocked its outlet about two to three million years ago, allowing Lake Otero to spread across roughly 1,600 square miles. As the last Ice Age ended, the lake evaporated; its dry lakebed became Alkali Flat.

Selenite crystals about two to three centimeters long form at Alkali Flat and Lake Lucero. Large floods concentrate mineral-rich water, and most crystal growth follows floods roughly every 10 to 14 years. Wind and water break the crystals into fine gypsum grains; strong winds carry the sand northeast and build the dunes you're sledding on.