White Sands National Park Things to Do

What drew you to White Sands National Park today? Hiking? Sledding? Solitude? The Tularosa Basin has been a place where we as humans have been coming for thousands of years, even before the dunefield you see today formed. If you had been standing here during the last Ice Age, you would have witnessed a climate that was much cooler, wetter, and greener with a massive lake known as Lake Otero that was the size of the present-day Great Salt Lake in Utah. These were the conditions that lured the Ice Age megafauna like Columbian mammoths, giant ground sloths, dire wolves, camels, and more. This abundance of large game is likely what attracted these early human migrants to this basin. The presence of humans and megafauna at White Sands is not from the discovery of bones or artifacts, but from the preservation of fossilized footprints in the ancient lake sediments. Today, these fossilized footprints have to be cataloged and studied rapidly because as quickly as they appear at the surface, they will continue to erode away with the wind in just a matter of years. These footprints will never tell us everything we want to know about what human and megafauna life at the time was like, but they do provide snapshots. A group of humans stalked a giant ground sloth on a hunt. A woman struggled and slipped through the mud for over a mile with a set of children’s feet appearing occasionally as she briefly sets her child down before moving on. A giant ground sloth made a footprint that became a puddle where children’s footprints show them splashing in the water. Sets of teenagers fossilized footprints carbon-dated to around 23,000 years old, older than any definitive evidence of human habitation yet found in North America. What will be remembered about your visit to White Sands today?

This is one of many restrooms at White Sands National Park.

To get the most out of your experience, please read and follow the safety guidelines.

Alkali Flat trail parking area has dunes meant for the experienced sledder. The steepness of the dunes means you will get some pretty good speed. Make sure there is nothing at the base of the dune where you are going down because it can be difficult to stop and not run into it. This activity can be done throughout the park. One only has to keep these two things in mind; Don’t sled into plants, for they have a tough enough life as it is in the desert. And second, don’t sled into roads, for it might turn into a dangerous situation. Bring your own sled or purchase one from the park’s gift shop.

The Backcountry Camping Trail parking area is perfect for intermediate sledders that want some good speed but don't want to go flying off the base of the dune. This activity can be done throughout the park. One only has to keep these two things in mind; Don’t sled into plants, for they have a tough enough life as it is in the desert. And second, don’t sled into roads, for it might turn into a dangerous situation. Bring your own sled or purchase one from the park’s gift shop.

The Roadrunner Picnic Area is great for young sledders! The dunes are steep enough to get some speed yet short enough that you won't go flying off the edge. The picnic area also has two bathrooms and several covered picnic table areas for your family to use. This activity can be done throughout the park. One only has to keep these two things in mind; Don’t sled into plants, for they have a tough enough life as it is in the desert. And second, don’t sled into roads, for it might turn into a dangerous situation. Bring your own sled or purchase one from the gift shop.

When the dune moves, the stem can no longer hold the plant up, the tall stem will fall. Soon new plants will grow from the fallen stem. The fiber from the spikey leaves can be used in making rope, matting, sandals, or baskets. The roots of the soaptree yucca can be boiled and used as soap. It also provides a food source for animals like the Apache pocket mouse.

While the darkling beetles are easy to see against the white sand, they are not defenseless. When scared, the darkling beetle sticks its backside in the air. They will spray a foul-smelling liquid from its posterior to scare off predators. The smell is like an oil-based fuel called kerosene. This smell is not pleasant. As a result, some people incorrectly call them stink bugs!

The sounds of the dunefield are different at night! A lot of the animals come out when it’s cooler and quieter – no humans. The top predator in the dunefield, the five-pound kit fox, comes out to play and hunt when darkness falls. They live in burrows in the exposed pedestals. Looking around, you probably can’t see any sources of water for these mighty hunters, so where do they get water? Kit foxes don’t drink water the way humans do; they get all the water they need from the blood of the prey they consume.

Shop in the White Sands park store and the gift shop.

This is one of many family-friendly interpretive signs on Dune Life Nature Trail at White Sands National Park.

This is one of many family-friendly interpretive exhibits on Dune Life Nature Trail at White Sands National Park.

This is one of many family-friendly interpretive exhibits on Dune Life Nature Trail at White Sands National Park.

This is one of many family-friendly interpretive exhibits on the Dune Life Nature Trail at White Sands National Park.

This is one of several family-friendly interpretive exhibits on Dune Life Nature Trail at White Sands National Park.

This is one of many restrooms at White Sands National Park.

The Alkali Flat Trail is the most strenuous trail at White Sands National Park. It offers an unparalleled view of the dunefield as well as Alkali Flat itself.

This is one of many restrooms at White Sands National Park.

This is one of many family-friendly interpretive exhibits on the Dune Life Nature Trail at White Sands National Park.

This is one of many family-friendly interpretive exhibits on the Dune Life Nature Trail at White Sands National Park.

This is one of several interpretive exhibits on the Playa Trail at White Sands National Park.

This is one of the interpretive kiosk panels at the Dune Life Nature Trail trailhead.

The "Making a Monument" interpretive sign is one of several informational exhibits located at the Visitor Center complex of White Sands National Park.

The "Mammoths to Ranchers" interpretive sign highlights the last ten millennia of human interaction with the Tularosa Basin.

This is one of several family-friendly interpretive exhibits along the Dune Life Nature Trail at White Sands National Park.

The "Missiles and Missions" interpretive sign describes the unique partnership between US Military and White Sands National Park.

This is one of many interpretive exhibits on the Dune Life Nature Trail at White Sands National Park.

This is one of many family-friendly interpretive exhibits on the Dune Life Nature Trail at White Sands National Park.

This is one of several family-friendly interpretive exhibits on Dune Life Nature Trail at White Sands National Park.

This is one of many family-friendly interpretive exhibits on Dune Life Nature Trail at White Sands National Park.

This is one of many family-friendly interpretive exhibits on the Dune Life Nature Trail at White Sands National Park.

This is one of several interpretive exhibits along the Playa Trail at White Sands National Park.

This is one of several interpretive exhibits on the Playa Trail at White Sands National Park.

This kiosk panel describes backcountry camping at White Sands National Park.

This is one of several interpretive signs found at Dune Life Nature Trail.

This interpretive sign is one of many interactive exhibits found on the Interdune Boardwalk at White Sands National Park.

This interpretive sign offers an overview of White Sands National Park as a whole.

This is one of several interpretive signs along the Playa Trail at White Sands National Park.

The Rio Grande cottonwood tree survives in White Sands National Park due to some adaptations it already had to survive in the surrounding desert. The stems that attach the leaves to the tree are flat instead of round. This helps the leaves twist in the wind allowing them to not be blown off the tree in the high-speed winds that often happen here. The roots run deep into the ground and hold the trees in place, so they don’t lose their grip during windstorms. During the fall, the green leaves of the cottonwood will start to turn yellow to orange in color. Migratory birds will use the groves of cottonwoods as resting points. The trees give them a place to stop and rest during their long journey.

Sledding wasn't always the main attraction at White Sands. Continue on to see how the Monument's first superintendent brought a different kind of tourism into the dunefield.

Animals like the kit fox will dig inside the plant-pedestal under the skunkbush sumac to build their homes. Birds will use the plant as a place to build a nest. The berries it produces are important source of foot for birds and small mammals once other food sources become scarce or unavailable during the fall and winter. Even a dead skunkbush sumac is useful because the pedestal will remain and is a good place to build a home.

If you'd been a visitor in the 1930s and 40s, your path into the park would have looked much different.

This is the only interpretive sign on the Alkali Flat Trail.

This interpretive sign showcases just how world-renowned White Sands National Park is. As the world's largest gypsum sand dunefield, White Sands has been featured in over 20 major films since 1950.

This interpretive sign showcases how creatures at White Sands have adapted their coloring to better survive in this blindingly white environment.

This interpretive sign showcases the geologic processes that formed the White Sands dunefield.

This is one segment of the kiosk panel at the start of the Alkali Flat Trail at White Sands National Park.

This is the informational panel for backcountry camping at White Sands National Park.

The Backcountry Camping Loop Trail is a moderate hike that takes visitors into the heart of the dunefield.

This is one of many restrooms at White Sands National Park.

This is one of many restrooms at White Sands National Park.

Unlike most owls, the burrowing owl is most active during the day. Living below ground helps to keep them cool when it’s hot outside. They tend to live in small groups called a parliament. In people, a parliament is a group of leaders who make decisions. In owls, the name comes from their association with wisdom. The owls take turns outside of the den watching for danger. Burrowing owls are known to eat insects, small mammals, and lizards. They will line the entrance of their burrow with mammals scat before they start nesting. Making it easy to get insects at the entrance to their burrow instead of hunting for them.

This is one of the largest pedestals accessible by foot at White Sands National Park.

This interpretive sign showcases the many ways that weather helps create White Sands' gypsum sand dunefield.

The "Chihuahuan Life" wayside at White Sands National Park highlights the coldest and wettest desert in North America.

The story of dunefield creation starts millions and millions of years ago, back when this area was covered by a shallow sea. Layers of gypsum were left behind as the sea emptied and filled over and over, and you can still see them as light layers of rock in the surrounding mountains. Water carries dissolved gypsum down to the basin, then evaporates, leaving behind gypsum crystals. Those crystals are then broken down into smaller and smaller pieces until they are the sand you just dug into. The dunes have been here for around 7,000 years! The secret to keeping all this sand in place is shallow underground water acting as an anchor. Much like a paper towel sucking up water, the dunes act like the paper towel and the water holds them in place. When you feel the wet sand a few inches down, you’re feeling the dunefield’s anchor.

Welcome to White Sands National Park and the Sunset Roll self-guided driving tour! This tour begins from the park’s adobe visitor center located immediately to the right as you enter the park from the highway. White Sands National Park is among the most unique places on planet earth featuring expansive gypsum sand dunes. However, White Sands is so much more than just the dunes. Here life within has evolved against a white backdrop which provides a natural laboratory to study rapid evolution. For human visitors, the Tularosa Basin is a place we come to for insights into our past, present, and future as human beings. This tour will show the value of White Sands as a natural wonder, ecosystem, and a place for human enjoyment. Before departing into the dunefield here are a few more tips to help you make the most of your visit: Read up on our hiking safety tips before setting off on foot. This is the last chance to get water! We strongly recommend having at least a gallon of water per person, per day. There is no drinking water available in the dunefield. Always know where you are in the park if you decide to explore the dunes from the road. Take note of the mile markers along the road and which parking area you leave your vehicle in. Let's hit the road!

The unique environment here is home to over 800 species of plants and animals. Of those, over 650 are moths! Moths are important pollinators for the plants of the dunefield and great snacks for the birds and bats. Imagine being a bird or a bat migrating and coming across this island feast!

As you wrap up your journey, this is a great place to stop, hydrate, and appreciate the view.

When and where was the last time you stopped to appreciate a dark night sky? Today it is rare for many people to have the opportunity to appreciate the everchanging night sky, but it is always there night after night whether we take notice or not. When the world shifts to darkness, most of us humans settle into our homes, close our eyes, and go to sleep. Out here at White Sands however, the park residents relish in the darkness. When visitors are done with their picnics, sledding, and taking selfies the park gets dark, quiet, and nocturnal animals emerge to start their day. This is when moths appear, fluttering from yucca to yucca, making sure they will bloom again next season. Bats squeak, flap, and swoop for prey. Kit foxes’ tiny paws scuttle along the dunes, chasing creatures with tinier paws. A bobcat lurks through the dunes, its eyes aglow in the moonlight. You may associate darkness with evil, uncertainty, and danger, but darkness is essential for all living things. The absence of light allows natural rhythms to take place. Artificial light disrupts this rhythm and alters the behavior of nocturnal animals. Imagine trying to sleep with the lights on or getting up for breakfast in the middle of the night. For us, darkness signals the end of the day and for nocturnal animals the beginning of theirs. In the absence of light, they can navigate, nest, hunt, and hide. Beyond helping nocturnal critters maintain their groove, the night sky has been an inspiration since the beginning of human history. On a clear night, how many stars can you see from your house? What can you do to see more? Perhaps a porch light or a bright floodlight is trespassing on your vision. The more artificial light that is near you, the fewer stars you will see. With few large population centers nearby, the remoteness of White Sands makes it an oasis for nocturnal animals to live undisturbed and for visitors to catch awe-inspiring views of the Milky Way. Tonight, and during your travels, we encourage you to keep your eye on the sky. Observe the darkness in different locations and recognize that this valuable resource is disappearing as we sleep.

This is one of the most explorable trails at White Sands National Park. Follow along with Katie the Kit Fox as she highlights some of the creatures and features of the white sand dunefield.

This kiosk panel highlights information about one of White Sands' most popular trails.

This is one of many vault toilets at White Sands National Park.

The kit fox is nocturnal, but they are known to come out on cloudy days from time to time. During the day, they stay in their dens to keep out of the heat. A kit fox will grow up to 20 inches (6 crayons) in length and weigh around five pounds. They have hair between their toes which helps them get more traction on the sand. This adaptation helps them to move fast and catch their prey. In the desert, there is very little access to running water. The kit fox gets all the moisture it needs from the food it eats instead of drinking. While it prefers small mammals such as mice, the kit fox will also eat lizards.

This is the location where the pavement ends and turns to hard-packed gypsum sand.

This is one of many restrooms in White Sands National Park.

They use these pockets to carry food to their dens. Pocket mice will store seeds in their burrows to eat later. If there aren’t enough seeds around, they will also eat leaves, stems of plants, and small insects. The white coloration of the Apache pocket mouse makes it hard for predators to see them. The more a mouse blends in with its habitat, the more likely it will live a long life. With each life cycle, the mice will become lighter because of the process of natural selection. In other words, the lighter mice will survive long enough to reproduce. They spend most of the day under the ground to keep out of the heat of the day. They will block up the den opening during the day to keep the cool night air inside. The tracks of the Apache pocket mouse resemble the movement of when you pretended to be a frog by putting your hands in between your feet on the ground and hop forward.

Darker lizards are easy for predators to see. While lighter lizards can hide against the gypsum sand, helping them hide. Lizards that escape getting caught due to their white color live longer. If you live longer, you will have more offspring. Their babies will inherit the bright white color and then, in time, pass the coloration onto their own offspring. You can sometimes see them running around the dunes catching bugs. The lizards talk to each other by bobbing their heads, just like you have probably seen other kinds of lizards do. They do have ears, but they are not visible like ours. The ears have a layer of skin that helps keep the sand out while digging.

This interpretive sign describes White Sands and its sister park, the Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna Cuatrociénegas.

Congrats on completing this self-guided audio tour! At the final stop here at the Backcountry Camping Loop take a minute to climb into the dunes near the parking lot and gaze out into the rolling white dunes. Whether you’re just beginning your day here at White Sands or finishing it with a breathtaking sunset you’ve gone on a journey that shows what makes White Sands a special place worthy of being protected as a National Park. You have seen the raw natural forces that have built this place over millions of years and the adaptability of life to survive in an everchanging environment. You have walked in the footsteps of ice age humans and mammoths as well as Mars rovers exploring the solar system. Take time to reflect here on this place, your visit, and what will be remembered about your day here. Thank you for supporting the National Park Service and recreating responsibly on your public lands to keep these spaces wild and pristine.

Come along as we explore some of the ways human use of the world's largest gypsum sand dunefield has changed over the last century.

The wind moves the sand around at White Sands National Park. Many plants can’t grow inside the sand because they will blow away in the wind. The plants that grow in the sand have all found different ways to survive here. A plant pedestal is one such way of surviving. It is a tall structure of hardened sand. Pedestals form when the plant takes up water from the soil. When the soil dries out, the sand will compact around the root system. The wind blows the loose sand away from the root system, exposing the pedestal underneath. Hoary rosemary mint leaves have shiny white hairs all over. The hairs help protect the plant from the sun. Just like when we put on sunscreen, it protects us from getting burnt.

As you gaze out your window you should see the sign “Gone With the Wind,” and beyond that sparse vegetation, and pure white dunes. How far do you think you can see? On most days you can see for miles, including the surrounding mountain ranges. Now I want you to imagine those mountains becoming obscured. A windstorm has picked up. You can feel it beating against the side of your car. It’s howling all around you. As the wind increases, visibility decreases. You can see a mile away. Then 500 feet. The yucca on the next dune is no longer visible. Then 100 feet. You can no longer see the sledding family. Then 20 feet. Then 5 feet in front of you. You are in the middle of white-out blizzard conditions, but instead of snow, it’s gypsum sand. If you were to try to leave your vehicle, assuming you could get the door open, the result would not be pleasant, gypsum would sandblast its way into every nook and cranny, the feeling of thousands of tiny needles against your skin. Moving only a few feet away from your vehicle could result in total disorientation. Now, what are some words you would use to describe our theoretical encounter? (pause) Wild? Dangerous? Perhaps even violent? As humans, we ascribe violence to nature quite often. Violent storms, volcanoes, and floods are found throughout most of the world. All these forces we may fear or try to prevent, help create the stunning landscapes and natural beauty we love – and the environment you are currently looking at. Eventually, the windstorm subsides, revealing pristine dunes, no footprints insight, with patterns of ripples coating its surface. Dunes move to new destinations, covering plants and revealing fresh ground for others to grow. Seeds fly to those new homes. From the beginning to now, without wind, this landscape would not exist. To change selenite, the crystal form of gypsum, to sand, the wind erodes the landscape. Crystals bounce off each other, collide, and break into smaller and smaller pieces, until they’re the size of a grain of sand, piling high to form the dunes you are seeing. Even though the dunefield loses sand during these windstorms, the wind also carries in new sand, keeping the dunefield in balance.

This is one of several waysides along Dunes Drive at White Sands National Park.

This is one of many restrooms at White Sands National Park.

This is one of many restrooms at White Sands National Park.

This is where visitors looking to bring horses or other pack animals into the park are able to park trailers and unload their animals.

This interpretive sign showcases the potential monetary value of White Sands National Park.

Continue straight on the desert trail with vegetation on both sides and up the first dune. Once the path becomes loose sand and splits, walk up the white dune onto the trailhead. The informational signs of the trail in the dunes go clockwise. At the first trail sign about “Who Eats What” follow the trail markers to the left of the informational sign.

When military tests are in progress Dunes Drive is closed to all traffic.

What is the day that has most impacted your life? Is it a major event like a wedding? A birth? A death? Or was it a leisurely day like today exploring in a park like this? Why did this one day have a long-lasting impact on your life? These special days that change our lives are unique for each one of us but we all undoubtedly have them. Even rarer than a day that has a special significance to just you, are days that have an undeniable impact on every person on earth. If you had been standing here in the early morning of July 16th, 1945, you would have been witness to such an event. As you look out over the dunes to the north, imagine you are here before sunrise and a blinding flash of light appears in the distance before fading away without explanation. The first shot of the atomic age had been fired 60 miles to the north at the Trinity Test site. For three years in near-total secrecy scientists and workers at three sites across the United States had been developing a new kind of weapon designed to bring a swift end to World War II. Known collectively as the Manhattan Project, the Trinity Test was the culmination of their years of work and within weeks of the successful test here in New Mexico the first atomic weapons would be dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, avoiding a full-scale invasion of Japan, but inflicting hundreds of thousands in civilian casualties. To this day they are the only nuclear weapons to have been used. However, the opening of the nuclear age at the Trinity site has had untold impacts on the world we live in. The potential for nuclear weapons to end human existence through mutually assured destruction has dominated global politics throughout the Cold War and into the 21st century. It has brought benefits to society in the forms of nuclear energy and medicine, but the adverse impacts cannot be ignored. In communities downwind from nuclear testing sites or uranium mines, the consequences have been devastating with high rates of cancer and birth defects. The Trinity Test is the point in time when the Pandora’s box of the atomic age was opened, and these sands bore witness to that moment.

This is the only wheelchair-accessible trail at White Sands National Park, and offers a variety of interpretive signs that showcase many of the incredible creatures and features found at White Sands.

This interpretive sign offers information about the only wheelchair-accessible trail at White Sands National Park, the Interdune Boardwalk.

This is one of many vault toilets at White Sands National Park.

This is one of several important safety panels located at White Sands National Park, and offers potentially life-saving information.

Welcome to White Sands National Park! You’ll be journeying along one of the park’s marked trails today to learn about the dunefield through your senses. Here are a few more tips to help you make the most of this self-led tour: Read up on our hiking safety tips before setting off on foot. Bring plenty of water! We recommend having a gallon of water per person, per day. There is no drinking water available in the dunefield. Always know where you are and keep an eye on the trail markers both behind you and ahead of you. Dune Life Nature Trail’s markers are blue with the club symbol. Let’s go!

This is one of several interpretive waysides along Dunes Drive at White Sands National Park.

This interpretive sign highlights some of the geologic processes that created White Sands National Park.

White Sands National Park presents a unique opportunity to learn more how life evolves and adapts to harsh and unique environments. Since 2007, Eric Metzler, an expert entomologist and volunteer at White Sands, has discovered over 650 different species of moths in these dunes. Sixty of those species are entirely new to science. . This moth research is critical because moths are a great indicator of a ecosystems health. The greater the diversity of moths, the greater the diversity of other animal and plant species, therefore the healthier the ecosystem! If moths died out, songbirds would all but disappear.

This interpretive sign highlights some of the research being done at White Sands National Park.

Here at the edge of the dunefield, where the dunes meet the Chihuahuan desert, plants and animals thrive! The dramatic change from dunes to desert floor occurs because the water table that holds the dunes in place disappears. But don’t worry, plenty of animals and plants call the desert home. As you visit other natural and unique spaces, remember to engage all your senses to fully appreciate your surroundings. Stay safe and keep exploring!

You are currently located at Dune Life Nature Trail! As you look up the trail leading into the dunes you will see desert scrubland vegetation on either side of the trail. Perhaps this is greener than you were expecting to see at a place with a name like White Sands. Here towards the front of the drive is a meeting point of two unique ecosystems that allows a diverse community to thrive. On Dune Life Nature Trail just up the path from the parking lot, you’ll find yourself in another world where snow white dunes are dotted with dune adapted plants such as soaptree yuccas, Rio Grande cottonwoods, and hoary rosemary mint. Across the park road towards the Sacramento Mountains to the east, you will see the Chihuahuan Desert scrubland full of low-growing, thorny fauna such as creosote bush, mesquite, ocotillo, and varieties of cacti. In the dunes, you’ll find full-time residents like kangaroo rats, bleached earless lizards, and over 60 species of moth found nowhere else on earth that have become color adapted to the blindingly white environment. The largest predator that lives full time in the dunes is a kit fox which weighs in at a whopping 4 pounds! Animals residing in the dunes are small, compact, and efficient with their water, never taking a drink in their life. But the White Sands community is more than just what’s found in the dunes. On the edge of the dunefield where the sand meets the desert scrubland, the park receives some interesting visitors. Larger mammals like bobcats, coyotes, badgers, and even porcupines that couldn’t survive in the dunes year-round make their way into the dunes to get the resources they need and then return to their homes in the scrubland. These temporary visitors to the dunes are no less of a part of the dunefield community whether their impact is big or small. Your visit to White Sands today is also a temporary one where you might come to hike, sled, or enjoy a picnic and then return home with memories to last a lifetime. Whether you’ve come from near or far to be here today by taking the time to explore White Sands you have become part of the White Sands community!

Pets love White Sands! To them, it's full of new scents, sights, cool, soft sand, and excitement! You'll love bringing your furry companions with you to the park, too.as long as they are non-disruptive, on a leash no longer than six feet, and are under physical control at all times.

This is one of the easiest trails found at White Sands National Park, and takes visitors to a view of a dried lakebed.

This is one of three picnic areas at White Sands National Park.

This is one of many restrooms at White Sands National Park.

This is one of several interpretive waysides along Dunes Drive at White Sands National Park.

This interpretive sign highlights some of the many different types of tracks found in the sand at White Sands National Park.

This is the largest picnic area at White Sands National Park, and the only one with a large pavilion that doesn't require a reservation.

This is one of many restrooms at White Sands National Park.

The Dune Life Nature Trail is full of life! This family-friendly, one mile (1.6 km) loop trail is a great way to explore White Sands.

The Roadrunner Picnic area is an excellent place to go sledding with friends and family at White Sands National Park.

This short, level, family-friendly trail leads to a small playa.

Are you looking for expansive views of snow-white gypsum dunes for miles? Hiking the Backcountry Camping Trail provides a sense of the magnitude of the world's largest gypsum dunefield.

Imagine yourself surrounded by the spectacular views of endless dunes with few footprints. The Alkali Flat Trail takes you through the heart of the sands, up and over steep dunes to the edge of Alkali Flat.

The Alkali Flat trailhead parking area has some of the tallest dunes to go sledding at White Sands.

The Interdune Boardwalk is an elevated boardwalk that leads you through the fragile interdune area to a scenic view of the dune field and the Sacramento mountains.

White Sands National Park offers three picnic areas where people can enjoy shade, relaxation, and access to the parks incredible dunes.