• Illustrated cover in a vintage screen-print poster style showing rippled white gypsum dunes in cream and lavender below distant violet-blue mountains, with a clump of dry golden grass in the foreground. A green banner at the top reads Brian Russ's Guide to National Parks; below the picture, the title White Sands National Park, the subtitle History, Highlights, and One- to Three-Day Adventures, and the byline Brian D. Russ.
  • Sample page from the White Sands National Park guide, wildlife chapter. Entry: Bleached earless lizard, with how to recognize it, where and when to see it, and a photograph.
  • Sample page from the White Sands National Park guide, a day itinerary with times, distances, and a photograph: Sledding on the dunes.
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Brian Russ Guides

White Sands National Park: History, Highlights, and One- to Three-Day Adventures

White Sands National Park: History, Highlights, and One- to Three-Day Adventures

$2.99 USD
$2.99 USD
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White Sands looks simple from the highway, and this guide shows you how much more is out there. It turns one road, five marked trails, ranger programs, missile-test closures, and serious desert heat into easy one-, two-, and three-day plans for the world's largest gypsum dunefield.

What's inside

  • Nine ready-made itineraries: one, two, and three days, each at easy, moderate, and strenuous effort, from the visitor center, sledding, and the Sunset Stroll to the Dune Life, Backcountry Camping, and Alkali Flat trails and the ranger-led Lake Lucero tour, every day with a weather or closure backup
  • The park's history, from Ice Age footprints more than 21,000 years old and ancient Lake Otero to the Mescalero Apache, Spanish salt caravans, ranchers, the 1933 monument, and the missile range next door
  • Sightseeing highlights along Dunes Drive, with the current safety corridor explained, the heart of the dunes, picnic areas, sunsets, full-moon nights, and nearby attractions
  • A wildlife chapter profiling 13 commonly seen animals, from bleached earless lizards and roadrunners to cactus wrens and darkling beetles, each with a photograph and notes on where and when to look
  • Trip planning for heat, water, wind, getting lost, closures, lodging in Alamogordo, tickets, rules, and accessibility
  • 31 photographs and 3 orientation maps

What you'll receive

  • EPUB ebook (White_Sands_National_Park_Brian_D_Russ.epub, about 7 MB) for Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play Books, and most e-reader apps. Kindle readers can send it to their library with Amazon's Send to Kindle.
  • PDF (White_Sands_National_Park_Brian_D_Russ.pdf, 93 pages including the cover, about 17 MB) for any device, and for printing pages. It opens on the illustrated cover.

Your download link arrives by email right after purchase.

Edition

First illustrated edition, October 2026, with research completed October 2026. Hours, programs, and closures change, so check the park's current alerts before you travel.

Bring a gallon of water, and stay for the sunset.

This is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service.
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