Interdune Boardwalk

The Interdune Boardwalk is the most accessible trail in White Sands National Park, designed to provide a fully wheelchair-accessible and stroller-friendly experience in the heart of the gypsum dune field. The elevated wooden boardwalk traverses the flat playa surface between two active dunes, offering interpretive signage without requiring travel over soft sand. The route focuses on the interdune ecosystem—the low areas between the crest dunes where different plant and animal communities cluster around slightly more stable substrate and occasional groundwater. Soaptree yucca dominates the boardwalk corridor, its long sharp leaves and tall flowering stalks serving as habitat for the yucca moth, the plant's exclusive pollinator in an extraordinary example of co-evolution. Interpretive panels along the boardwalk explain the gypsum formation process, the role of the enclosed Tularosa Basin in concentrating minerals, and the ongoing debate among scientists about the origin of the basin's structure. The paved parking area at the Interdune Boardwalk trailhead is the flattest and most accessible access point in the park. Seasonal wildflowers including plains zinnia and purple mat bloom in the interdune flats following summer monsoon rains. The boardwalk is particularly busy on weekend mornings when ranger programs draw large family groups.