Otero County

The county in brief

A traveler's read on Otero County

White Sands National Park protects the world's largest gypsum dunefield — 275 sq mi of pure white selenite crystal washed in from the Tularosa Basin's Permian-age evaporite beds, the only such dunefield outside a single saline lake at Lake Lucero on the park's western boundary. Otero County wraps the entire dunefield, the White Sands Missile Range, Holloman AFB, and the Sacramento Mountains rising to 11,981 ft at Sierra Blanca.

The park has no developed RV campground — the only on-site option is backcountry permits dispersed across 10 reserved sites accessible only on foot from Backcountry Trailhead. Oliver Lee Memorial State Park 12 miles south of the park entrance holds the nearest RV-friendly hookups (44 sites accepting rigs up to 50 ft). Missile-range closures of US-70 between Alamogordo and Las Cruces happen 2-3× monthly and last 60-90 minutes.