Overview
About White Sands Entrance Station
Why stop
- Maps, permits and passes are handled at the same stop.
Heads up
- It is a service checkpoint, not a place to explore.
Map
Where it is
Loading the White Sands map
Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
2 active White Sands alerts
- ClosureDunes Drive safety corridor and Interdune Boardwalk closureMentions Dunes Drive, referenced in this guideDrive through the Dunes Drive safety corridor without stopping or exiting; the Interdune Boardwalk is closed. - The corridor spans mile markers 3–5.5.Official details
- ClosureBackcountry camping closedBackcountry camping is closed, and there is no overnight lodging in the park. - NPS says the campsites are closed for rehabilitation; no reopening date has been determined.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
White Sands Tour Guide
Your drive to White Sands Entrance Station, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for White Sands National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this area
A Child Carried Across the Mud0:00 / 0:31
“An Ice Age walk across this basin left a surprisingly personal record. One person’s footprints run for almost a mile, with tiny toddler prints appearing beside them at intervals.”
Plays near White Sands Entrance Station in the Parkwolf White Sands Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- White Sands Visitor Center: Footprints and Supplies
- Following a Giant Sloth
- The Yucca Hidden in a Dune
- Water from a Seed
- 23 audio storiesacross White Sands’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Gemsbok, Great Horned Owl, Roadrunner, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 5 trails, 24 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about White Sands Entrance Station
Handle entry hereWhite Sands Entrance Station is the staffed fee and pass booth on Dunes Drive, about a quarter…
White Sands Entrance Station is the staffed fee and pass booth on Dunes Drive, about a quarter mile beyond the Visitor Center. It handles park entry and pass sales, with maps, information and permits available. Think of it as a useful checkpoint, not a separate attraction to build time around.
Save a stop before the boothYou can go straight to the entrance station for the fee or a brochure; there's no need to stop…
You can go straight to the entrance station for the fee or a brochure; there's no need to stop at the Visitor Center for either. Buying a pass online can save time at entrance stations, but connectivity is limited around the park, so download or print a digital pass before you arrive.
Wildlife
Wildlife in White Sands
39 sightingsGemsbokMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
17 sightingsGreat Horned OwlMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
10 sightingsRoadrunnerMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
11 sightingsRavenMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
16 sightingsHorned LarkMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
20 sightingsBlack-throated SparrowMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across White Sands. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
