Imagine a place where dunes of white sand rise taller than a house and seemingly forever into the horizon, where a trail's route shifts every day as wind remolds the terrain, where more than 800 animal species call an inhospitable desert home, where you can walk the shores of an ancient lake that mammoths and saber-toothed cats once drank from. The place is real: It's called White Sands National Park.

But with the park's incredible size of nearly 228 square miles, how can you ensure that you see its main sights when vacationing or driving through? That's what Best Sights to See at White Sands National Park answers. In this volume, we've listed the park's top 7 most popular sights and experiences while detailing the top day hiking trails to best enjoy them.

This book contains two BONUS sections - a day hiking primer, and a guide to hiking in national parks. Nearby hiking trails in Lincoln National Forest, Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, Carlsbad Caverns/Guadalupe Mountains national parks are included as well. Downloadable 8 x 11 inch maps are available online for all featured trails.

ROB BIGNELL is an avid backpacker who's been hiking for more than two decades. He has written more than 25 hiking guidebooks, mostly on national parks and the Upper Midwest, several of which have topped bestseller lists.