Alkali Flat Trail - White Sands National Monument

Our May 2015 visit to White Sands National Monument continued with a morning hike on the Alkali Flat Trail. This five mile loop through the dunes and out onto Alkali Flat begins at a large parking area on the loop portion of Dunes Drive. The rain and wind of the storms of the previous evening had left the dunes free of footprints of previous hikers. The trail is marked by fiberglass poles similar to those located along major highways. Note from the trail elevation profile that the trail heads up and over numerous dunes up to 30 feet high. Most of the trail markers are placed at or near the top of a dune. The park service requires everyone hiking on this trail to sign in and out at the trailhead. Recall that the monument is surrounded by active military facilities, some of which are visible from the trail.  All of the military facilities are off limits to the public. If you think you are lost, climb to the top of a dune and look for trail markers. Do not head to the red and white water tower on Alkali Flat unless, as a ranger told us, you "want to have overnight accommodations courtesy of the government."

Since gypsum is soluble in water, a surface coating similar to plaster of Paris is often formed on the dunes. This makes walking much easier than walking on relatively soft silicon sand dunes. In addition, the dunes turn a beige color when wet and return to white when dry. We chose to walk the trail in a counter-clockwise direction. After beginning the trail, we found that the miles were marked in a clockwise direction. Either way works fine. Some of the dunes were steeper than we were willing to attack straight on, so we walked up one of the "horns" of the crescent shaped barchan dunes to reach the trail marker. The trail reaches Alkali Flat, but does not traverse it as most of the flat is part of the missile range.

We got a fairly early start on the hike and didn't meet anyone until we were nearly half-way around the loop. We didn't meet anyone else until near the end of the trail. The solitude and ever changing light and shadows made this one of the most enjoyable and beautiful hikes of our entire trip.

Topographic map with GPS hiking route

Trail elevation profile

Trailhead kiosk

Hard packed sand leads to the first trail marker

Ripples

Clouds provided the only shade on the trail

Hard-packed basin and the San Andres Mountains

Rubber Rabbitbrush

Trail markers

Dunes seem to go on forever

Some vegetation can grow fast enough to rise above the shifting sand

White Lizard

More ripples

Former dune edges look like tire tracks across the basin floor

Most of the gypsum sand began as part of the light colored layer of selenite near the top of the San Andres Mountains

Often many trail markers are visible from the top of a dune

Ripples and waves of sand

As one dune overtakes another, small depressions are formed

Hiking along a dune ridge is easier than descending and climbing again

A line of dunes

Glowing in the sunlight

Dunes nearly cover this Sand Verbena

Blue skies and shadows

A sideways view of a crescent shaped barchan dune formation

Twin Buttes

One of several dune "canyons" we noticed

The basin floor is based on the water table and not how the dunes move across the floor

Drying out the dunes

Seeing the crescent shape from near the top of the dune

Erosion runoff is more random than wind ripples

Gypsum rocks composed of selenite crystals

Shadows return even as the mountain clouds dissipate

From upwind, the barchan dunes look like small hills

More gypsum rocks

This Sand Verbena is doing much better than the previous one

Alkali Flat and the San Andres Mountains

The trail continues a short distance onto Alkali Flat

View from the "end" of the trail

Clouds over Alkali Flat

Returning toward the dune field

The shifting dunes uncover more gypsum rock

Trail markers as far as I can see

As the dunes intersect, they form some interesting patterns

More clouds and shadows

Crescent shape of a barchan dune

A Skunkbush Sumac pedestal grows above the dunes

Graceful curves in the shifting landscape

Quintessential white sand

The dunes dry unevenly

Skunkbush Sumac pedestal

Numerous clouds create an interesting shadow pattern

Light, shadow and the San Andres Mountains

Cloud shade passes over a dune

Clouds building on the horizon

Still damp and beige around the grasses, the majority of the dune has dried and turned white

An entrance fee of $3 per person is required to enter the dunes. The fee is valid for seven days. Other options include a White Sands National Monument Annual Pass for $20, an Interagency Annual Pass providing access to most national park, national forest and BLM fee areas for $80 and a lifetime Interagency Senior Pass for those age 62 and older for $10. Special events such as Lake Lucero tours, full moon bike rides and full moon hikes require reservations and additional fees of $8 per person.

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/whsa/index.htm.