White Sands National Park & Fort Stanton Historic Site Overnight Ride

White Sands National Park & Fort Stanton Historic Site Overnight Ride (Saturday, May 24 through Sunday, May 25, 2025)

Looking for something to do during the Memorial Day Weekend, then join us on a geologic and historical trip to the White Sands National Park & Fort Stanton Historic Site.
Day 1
We will meet at the Pilot Travel Center at 9220 Broadway Blvd SE, Albuquerque, NM 87105 (Highway 47 and I-25) at 9:00 AM on May 24th.

The briefing will be at 9:15 AM with KSU at 9:30 AM.

We will take I-25 South and stop in Socorro for gas and a break. We will head South on I-25, then East on 380 at the San Antonio exit. We will head East on 380 stopping in Carrizozo for gas and Lunch. From Carrizozo, we will take Highway 54 to Highway 70 and enter the Park from Highway 70.

I know that many prefer to stay off the interstate highways; however, I-25 south of Los Lunas is typically low in traffic on Saturdays.

After exploring the White Sands National Park, we will then go to the hotel(s) in Alamogordo, check in, freshen up, and go to dinner.
There are several hotels in Alamogordo.

I would suggest the Hampton Inn (I am staying there.), the Holiday Inn Express near the airport, or the Quality Inn (lowest rate). Each rider will be responsible for their own reservations: I could not secure a group rate from any decent hotels I called because of the holiday weekend. Additional information on these hotels are listed below.

Day 2
Day two, we will meet at 9:00 AM with full tanks at the Hampton Inn. Pre-ride briefing will be at 9:15 AM with a 9:30 AM departure. Many hotels offer a free breakfast; however, we can discuss meeting somewhere as a group at 8:00 AM.

From the Hampton Inn, we will take Highway 70 to several mountain roads (Highway 48 and Billy The Kid Trail) up to Fort Stanton. After the tour of Fort Stanton, we will travel to Capitan for gas and have lunch at the Smokey Bear Restaurant.

After lunch, we will travel back to Albuquerque via Carrizozo, Mountainair, and Tijeras.

Resources/additional information.
Hampton Inn (575) 439-1782
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/almhhhx-hampton-alamogordo/?SEO_id=GMB-AMER-HX-ALMHHHX&y_source=1_MjA4MjI0MS03MTUtbG9jYXRpb24ud2Vic2l0ZQ%3D%3D

Holiday Inn Express (575) 434-9773
https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/us/en/alamogordo/almhr/hoteldetail?cm_mmc=GoogleMaps--EX--US-_-ALMHR

Quality Inn & Suites Near White Sands National Park (575) 489-0519
https://www.choicehotels.com/new-mexico/alamogordo/quality-inn-hotels/nm104?mc=llgoxxpx

White Sands National Park: https://www.nps.gov/whsa/index.htm

Fort Stanton: https://www.nmhistoricsites.org/fort-stanton

If time permits or if anyone is interested, The New Mexico Museum of Space History is in Alamogordo: https://nmspacemuseum.org/