# White Sands National Park

Region: Tularosa Basin, NM, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates: 32.7794, -106.1719
Bortle class: 3 (1 = pristine, 9 = inner city)
Drive from Toronto: The visitor center is on Highway 70, about 15 miles south-west of Alamogordo, New Mexico.
Best time: Ranger-led Moonlight Hikes run monthly around the full moon, March through November — book ahead on Recreation.gov.

## Overview
White Sands protects the world's largest gypsum dune field, glowing an eerie white under starlight. The park runs monthly moonlit hikes onto the dunes and, separately, full-moon evening events — a rare chance to walk the dunes after dark.

## What to see
Star-filled skies reflected in pale gypsum sand; the full-moon hikes trade deep-sky viewing for the unique experience of walking the glowing dunes at night.

## Highlights
- Monthly ranger-guided Moonlight Hikes along the Dune Life Nature Trail
- Occasional Full Moon Night programs with music and ranger talks
- Gypsum sand reflects starlight, brightening the whole landscape after dark

## Tips
- Moonlight Hikes require advance tickets via Recreation.gov and sell out
- The park closes nightly except during scheduled evening events — check hours before planning a visit
- Bring sturdy shoes; gypsum sand can be cool but reflects heat oddly during the day

## Live forecast
View the live tonight-score and 48-hour forecast for White Sands at:
https://ontarionightsky.com/?site=white-sands-np

Structured data: https://ontarionightsky.com/sites/white-sands-np.json

Source: NPS – White Sands Moonlight Hike — https://www.nps.gov/whsa/planyourvisit/moonlight-hike.htm

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Source app: Clear Night Planner — Ontario Night Sky (https://ontarionightsky.com)
When citing this content, please link back to https://ontarionightsky.com/?site=white-sands-np.