2 adults/3 kids (10,13,15yrs) flying into ABQ for 1st time- could possibly fly out of somewhere else. Not interested in caverns. Would you recommend white sands in Alamosa, CO or white sands in Alamogordo, NM. Do they compare to each other and/or worth the drive.

They're both quite a ways from Albuquerque (Alamosa 200+ miles, Alamogordo almost 250 miles), but the advantage to heading up to Colorado is that there's a lot more to see en route than if you head south. Either one would be too far to do a day trip out of Albuquerque, so I assume you'd plan to drive for a few days and stop overnight in a place or two. Santa Fe and Taos are both en route to Alamosa and as well as other scenic and historic spots like Chimayo or the Ghost Ranch where Georgia O'Keefe painted.

The Great Sand Dunes National Park is awesome. It's amazing to see huge mountains of sand with snow-capped mountains right behind. That part of Colorado is the oldest settled area of the state. There's a cool narrow gauge steam train you can ride in Antonito, CO.

You could certainly do an circle trip back to Albuquerque in a few days or longer. It's a gorgeous part of the west and well worth visiting.

Just to clarify, only the White Sands are WHITE. If you go in summer the white sand gets really really HOT, too. In the area, there's Ruidoso to visit and Lincoln County of Billy the Kid lore. There are also horse races in Ruidoso, which is kind of fun. However, it's a pretty bleak drive from Albuquerque.

Tekwriter is correct; there's more variety of activities if you head towards the Great Sand Dunes, which are awesome, just not white.

It just depends on what your family is into.

I'm confused, I thought that since the sand is white, it doesn't get HOT!???

Dockruins: Ha! Of course sand gets hot, even if it's white. Haven't you ever been to the beach in the summer? And the sand we're talking about is in the middle of the desert. No way you'd want to walk on it without thick shoes, especially since you can't run into the ocean to cool off!!

Jayne: Although the sand dunes in Colorado are pure white, what color do you describe them as?

Previous post: I meant to say "areN'T pure white.."

In ABQ you might want to check out Petroglyphs Natl Monument and the Natl Atomic Museum at Kirkland AF base. Driving S as you near Socorro if you don't mind the detour and like to see scenes which were in movies, visit the Very Large Array (20+ radio telescopes) near Magdalena where some of the movie Contact was filmed. Depending if you are visiting in late fall you might want to visit Bosque del Apache Natl Wildlife Refuge to see thousands of snow geese and sandhill cranes,which is S of Socorro. North of Whites Sands you might be interested in Three Rivers Petroglyphs near town of same name. Over 20,000 petroglyphs on the volcanic rocks which stretch for over a mile. BLM property.
Near Great Sands in CO you might want to check out the Wheeler Geologic Area with its unusual hoodoos.

As I recall, the sand at Great Sand Dunes was sort of tan. White Sands is stark white--almost like being on another planet.

When we were at White Sands...it was a sunny and very warm day...upper 80's and the sand was not hot...almost cool. Remember...it is not sand..its gypsum!

Atomic Museum is no longer located at Kirtland AFB. It is downtown...