Exploring the National Parks · Wednesday, September 30, 2026
White Sands National Park officially transitioned from a National Monument, but its website has yet to fully update, with many references to 'monument' remaining. Ash and John speculate this is due to short-staffing within the park's administrative offices.
“I know. I think it kind of makes me feel like I'm part of a special club. That I was there when it was a monument.”
“Our, like, our Junior Ranger badges and our ornaments and everything says White Sands National Monument. So, pretty cool that this one changed to a National Park, though. I haven't noticed really a difference. Not sure if you could speak into any differences we've noticed since it became a National Park.”
“Bizier, probably. Probably a little bit busier. But even on the website, a lot of the stuff still says monument. Yeah, they haven't even gone through and just done like a simple like control F search to find all the words monument and change them to park.”
“Yeah, they're short-staffed. Exactly. Yes. But no, this place is so cool. And it's definitely deserving of its National Park status if you ask me.”