Day Hiking Trails: Great national parks near White Sands

Monday, January 11, 2021

Great national parks near White Sands

Witch's Finger at Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

For travelers driving a distance to White Sands National Park, there are plenty of great sights that you ought to make a side trip to see.

Among the two biggest are Saguaro National Park if coming coming west from Tucson and the adjacent Carlsbad and Guadalupe Mountains national parks if coming east from southern Texas. Another excellent hiking area between Tucson and White Sands is southeast Arizona’s Chiricahua National Monument.

All offer quite different experiences than White Sands, adding a variety of unique, fantastic hikes during your trip.

Some of the great sights near White Sands and some trails to explore them include:
• Carlsbad Caverns National Park
• Chiricahua National Monument
• Guadalupe Mountains National Park
• Saguaro National Park

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks series.

Meet the Author

My name is Rob Bignell. I'm a long-time hiker, journalist and editor. My son Kieran and I have been hiking together for the past decade. Before Kieran, I taught middle school students in New Mexico and Wisconsin, served as an infantryman in the Army National Guard, and worked in newspapers. I've won several journalism awards, from editorial writing to sports reporting. In 2001, The Prescott Journal, which I served as managing editor of, was named Wisconsin’s Weekly Newspaper of the Year. Currently I own and operate an online editing business, Inventing Reality Editing Service. After spending several years in Southern California, my son and I now live in Wisconsin on the scenic Red Cedar River.