White Sands Dunes Drive

White Sands National Monument in New Mexico is an impressive site with its pure white gypsum sand dunes — the largest in the world with 275 square miles of gypsum dunes. Before I began exploring the dunes themselves, I dove the entire Dunes Drive which is about 8 miles round trip. For those visiting for the first time like myself, it’s a great way to get a quick overview of the entire White Sands National Monument before choosing where to explore the sand dunes. While there are many beautiful sights which will peak your interest and help you decide where you want to explore, one of the unexpected sights I saw on the drive was the piles of white gypsum sand on the side of the road:

Gypsum sand piles on Dunes Road at White Sands National Monument

There is so much gypsum sand and it’s constantly being blown by the wind that they need to plow Dunes Road just like snow in the mountains.