Missile Park
Managed by WSMR
3 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Launch Complex 33 · Photo: NASA · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in White Sands
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in White Sands
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 5.9 miles of mapped trail cross White Sands, 1.4 per square mile of land. 14 acres are parks and preserves, 8.8 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
0 acres · of 4.2 sq mi of land
Trails
5.9 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
14 ac
8.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is White Sands?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does White Sands have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, White Sands is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of White Sands’ overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical NM town 4% · U.S. 4%DTrails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · NM 0.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land8.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (14 acres) · NM 7 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · NM 67% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 62%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Missile Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Volunteer Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Bicentennial Grove
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Things to do
2 places to go in White Sands
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in White Sands
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
6Tennis
3Basketball
3Baseball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in White Sands
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.2 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 57 | 62 | 70 | 78 | 86 | 95 | 95 | 93 | 87 | 78 | 66 | 56 |
| Rain (in) | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
April is the driest month (0.2 in) and June the warmest (highs of 95 °F). 2.0 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 95 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in White Sands →
Questions about parks and trails in White Sands
Where can I hike in White Sands?
The longest trail networks: Missile Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of White Sands is conserved land?
under 1% of its land, against a typical 4% for a New Mexico town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on White Sands’ trails?
Missile Park and Volunteer Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near White Sands?
9,581 acres of parks and open public land lie inside White Sands or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 14 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does White Sands have?
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from White Sands neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →