Alkali Flat Trail
in New Mexico · centroid 74 mi from El Paso
Red trail markers with a diamond symbol guide hikers along this strenuous, 5-mile (8 km) roundtrip hike. The Alkali Flat Trail skirts the edge of what is now the final remnant of Lake Otero. This trail is not flat!
You will be hiking up and down dunes the entire way. Go only if you are prepared. There is no shade, no water, and no toilet facility along this trail. The average completion time is three hours. Length: 5 miles (8 km), round-trip Trail Marker Color: Red Trail Marker Symbol: Diamond Average Completion Time: 3 hours Difficulty: Strenuous Distance from Visitor Center: 7 miles (11.2 km) Restroom: Two vault toilets at the trailhead Before setting out on foot at White Sands National Park, please view our Hiking Safety Tips.
- States
- New Mexico
- Trail type
- National Park trail
- Centroid nearest city
- El Paso, TX · 74 mi · ~2.1 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 32.8205°, -106.2731°
About White Sands National Park
This trail is inside White Sands National Park, a national park managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Entrance fee: $25 per vehicle (verify current rate on the park page). An America the Beautiful annual pass ($80) covers entrance to all NPS units.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/alkali-flat-trail.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/whsa/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Alkali Flat Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
Other trails within 50 miles
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.