Located near the city of Alamogordo, New Mexico, White Sands National Monument lies entirely within the White Sands Missile Range. As a result, a couple of times of week the park is closed down for a couple of hours to conduct missile testing. This makes it one of the most potentially dangerous parks in the national park system (if you don't include tourists who slip and fall in the Grand Canyon).

At White Sands you'll discover the world's largest gypsum dune field. The white sand contrasted against New Mexico's deep blue sky makes for wonderful photographic opportunities. The white sand may also fool your camera to underexpose and you'll end up seeing gray sand on your camera's LCD. To compensate you'll need to overexpose anywhere from 1/2 to 2 stops and don't forget to pack your polarizer!

At minimum spend at least one morning and one evening in the park to catch the amazing light that spreads across the white landscape. If you plan to hike further into the dunes to escape the footprints bring water and a compass.

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