White Sands Trading Company Gift Shop, Alamogordo

White Sands Trading Company’s gift shop and grab-and-go food and beverage area are housed in one of seven adjacent buildings officially designated as the White Sands National Monument Historic District. Designed by Lyle Bennett, architect of the Pueblo-Revival style for the NPS, these adobe structures were built between 1936 and 1940. Be sure to note the original vigas (logs that support the roof), the extremely thick adobe walls and the Saltillo tile floor.

The gift shop offers items that have been carefully selected to enhance your experience of White Sands and the surrounding area. You’ll find authentic Native American handcrafts including hand coiled, wood-fired pottery and Zuni, Hopi, Santo Domingo and Navajo jewelry. Adults as well as kids enjoy our sand toys, sleds and kites. Regional food products will inspire you to create spicy New Mexican meals in your own kitchen…and souvenirs (T-shirts, mugs, caps, etc.) as well as breathtaking prints of White Sands will provide pleasant memories long after you return home.

Grab-and go will help appease your hunger with snacks and sandwiches. You can also restock your water supply (critical in this desert) or select from a variety of juices and sodas.

One of the world's great natural wonders , the white sands of New Mexico glisten in wave-like dunes that engulf 275 square miles of desert. This phenomenon is the world's largest gypsum dune field and is home to White Sands National Monument.

Long known as a recreation mecca in southern New Mexico, White Sands is an ideal location to sled down dunes on sand saucers (available for sale in the gift shop), fly kites, hike the 6.2 miles of marked trails, walk the dunes at sunset, drive or bike along a paved road that leads to the heart of the dunes, picnic at shaded tables while you enjoy beautiful vistas, take spectacular photos, stargaze at a breathtaking expanse of stars against a black sky.

White Sands Trading, concessioner of the gift shop and its grab-and-go food and beverage area, is proud to join with the NPS in preserving this rich ecosystem for generations to come. We are vigilant in using best practices to limit our impact on the environment and to educate visitors about the fragility of this unique area. We invite everyone to join with us in protecting and preserving the historic building we occupy as well as this unparalleled desert-scape.

Find out how to plan Alamogordo trip without stress by asking Inspirock to help create an itinerary.
Source