About
Length (round trip)4 mi
ShapeOut-and-Back
DifficultyModerate
Elevation gain100 ft up
Typical time2 hr
TrailheadSalt Basin Dunes trailhead, west side
SurfaceDeep gypsum sand, no trail
Best seasonVisitation to the Salt Basin Dunes can be problematic during the summer months when temperatures can exceed 100 degF. Summer storms may produce heavy rains that can make the access road impassable...
DogsNot allowed
AccessibilityTrail surfaces are loose rock or hardened rock surfaces. Hiking or trekking poles are highly recommended. Trail widths vary from two to six feet depending on the trail. Parking All trailhead areas have accessible parking available. Service animals Only service animals that have been individually trained to perform specific tasks for the benefit of persons with disabilities are allowed in the park and on trails.
What you'll see 🌄 Big views

The white gypsum sands of the Salt Basin Dunes rise 100 feet from the desert floor and provide a brilliant contrast to the dark, towering cliffs of the Guadalupe Mountains. Distance: 3-4 miles (5-7 km) round-trip, out and back Time Estimate: 1-3 hours Difficulty: Moderate. Some dunes are 60 feet high and require scrambling. To the west are barren salt flats that are the source of these beautiful dunes. When rain runs off the highly soluble limestone rock in the adjacent mountains, salts are leached. This runoff pools in the desert basin and as it evaporates, large grains of mineral salts are left behind. The wind carries the salt grains northeast toward the Guadalupe Mountains and deposits them at the base of the western Guadalupe escarpment to form gypsum dunes. The dune landscape is geologically young. It developed over the past few thousand years as dissolved salts and gypsum from an adjacent lake bed were deposited by wind into ever changing sculpted hill, swale, and ripple formations. The mesquite coppice dunes form stabilized spots where wildlife abounds. The dunes environment is home to gypsum-loving plant and animal life such as gypsum scalebroom, a white variant of the lesser earless spiny lizard, and five of the park's seven species of scorpions.

Tips
A 50-mile drive around the mountains from Pine Springs with no services. Sunset here, with the Guadalupe escarpment behind the white sand, is extraordinary and you will be alone.
Location

Salt Basin Dunes trailhead, west side

Other Hikers
No one has logged this trail yet.
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