White Sands takes up 275 square miles of breath­tak­ing land­scape in New Mex­i­co. Its most notice­able fea­ture: miles of undu­lat­ing dunes made of blind­ing­ly white gyp­sum crys­tals which were formed 10,000 years when shal­low sea that had exist­ed for mil­lions of years dried up, leav­ing the gyp­sum behind. Though long a Nation­al Mon­u­ment, White Sands was ele­vat­ed to park sta­tus in Decem­ber 2019. Four marked trails allow hik­ing, and since gyp­sum, unlike sand, reflects the sun’s heat, the dunes are easy on your feet. And if you’re so inclined, you can rent plas­tic sleds to slide down them.