Mescalero Sands North Dune Off-Highway Vehicle Area, New Mexico Camping & Hiking

Mescalero Sands North Dune Off-Highway Vehicle Area, New Mexico Camping & Hiking

Mescalero Sands North Dune Off-Highway Vehicle Area Image Gallery

Listen

Directions

From Roswell, travel east 45 miles on US 380 and turn south at the sign. From Tatum, travel west 27 miles on US 380.

Phone

575-627-0272

Activities

CAMPING, OFF HIGHWAY VEHICLE, PICNICKING, WILDLIFE VIEWING

Camping Reservations

Reserve your campsite at these camping areas:

New Mexico Campgrounds

Hiking Trails

Looking for nice hiking areas to take a hike? Choose from these scenic hiking trails:

New Mexico Hiking Trails

Related Link(s)

More New Mexico Recreation Areas

BLM New Mexico Twitter

Mescalero Sands North Dunes OHV Area: Public Lands Web Site

BLM New Mexico Flickr

Mescalero Sands North Dune OHV Area

BLM New Mexico Facebook Page

BLM New Mexico Flickr

BLM New Mexico YouTube Channel

BLM New Mexico YouTube Channel

BLM New Mexico Twitter

BLM New Mexico Facebook Page

More than 610 acres of towering 90+ foot sand dunes await your enjoyment in the Mescalero Sands North Dune Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Area. The dune field stretches over most of the area and lends itself well to all terrain cycles, sand rails and dune buggies. The dunes are made up of quartz particles and are constantly changing due to the prevailing southwest wind. When the dunes are active, they move about a foot per year.

Among the biggest surprises in the area are the mature cottonwood trees. The combination of a very shallow water table and the sand’s capacity to hold water allows these trees to thrive in an arid environment.

While the road into Mescalero Sands is capable of supporting cars, trucks and buses, the soft sand off established roads and parking lots is not. BLM does not recommend leaving the surfaced areas in any vehicle other than an all-terrain vehicle.

The Bowl Parking Area provides access to the northern portion of the dunes, which includes the “Bowl.” The Bowl is a large depression surrounded by dunes. The Cottonwood Site provides access to the southern portion of the dunes. Trails connect both portions of the dunes.

More from CampingHiking.net: