Roswell to Cloudcroft to White Sands National Park: 4 Days in a Little Pocket of Heaven in New Mexico (Dog Friendly)

I will say, the first part of this trip is a lot more fun if you’re a believer ;). We went in mid-February and intentionally planned this trip to include our pup, Obi. It ended up being the perfect time for snow sports in Cloudcroft and, in our opinion, one of the best times to check out White Sands National Park since the weather was so pleasant for being in the middle of a desert.

Day 1 – Dallas to Roswell, New Mexico

We started our drive from South Dallas and headed to Roswell, New Mexico — about 502 miles and approximately 8 to 8.5 hours with restroom breaks.

We made the drive fun by hyping ourselves up and listening to a podcast about the famous 1947 Roswell crash, along with plenty of other alien rabbit-hole stories. It was the perfect mental prep for our first stop: the International UFO Museum and Research Center.

The museum walks you through the timeline and story of the famous Roswell crash, along with other UFO sightings and theories. Admission is $7 per adult as of 2026 , and it is also dog-friendly.

Just a warning if you’re bringing your pup: they have a cool spinning flying saucer display that makes sounds and shoots out fog, and our dog was TERRIFIED lol. Thankfully, it only runs every ten minutes or so, which gave Obi a little break between alien encounters.

One of the coolest parts comes near the end of the museum. There’s an immersive virtual experience that makes you feel like you’re the alien pilot of the crashed UFO and theorizes what is believed to have happened. You enter a closed room and basically get an advanced arcade-style experience that was actually way cooler than we expected, giving a quick synopsis of the creation of the atomic bomb and the correlation of UFO's entering main stream culture.

As you exit, there’s also a hidden little corner that is basically a conspiracy junkie’s paradise. Think shelves and shelves of archived documents, government records, and redacted files ready for your next rabbit hole.

You also HAVE to do the Roswell UFO Spacewalk across the street. It’s a super fun, glow-in-the-dark, alien-themed black-light maze, and yes, it was dog-friendly too.

As we wound down the day, we walked around downtown Roswell, which is completely decked out in alien décor. Even the McDonald’s is shaped like a flying saucer!

We booked a dog-friendly hotel right off the main street, felt completely safe walking around, and ended the night with dinner at a local Tex-Mex spot where the prices were good and the drinks were strong.

Thank goodness we made it back to the hotel with no alien abductions.

Day 2 – Roswell to Cloudcroft + Snowboarding & Tubing

The next morning, we drove southwest to Cloudcroft, New Mexico, which is approximately two hours from Roswell.

The drive gets hillier and more beautiful as you make your way into the mountains. Creeks weave in and out of view as you climb higher and higher until suddenly you start seeing patches of snow everywhere.

We headed to Ski Cloudcroft for some snowboarding and tubing.

It was honestly very inexpensive. Now, I’m no expert, but I thought it was perfect for beginners and anyone wanting to learn without spending a ridiculous amount of money.

To give you an idea, one of the best bangs for your buck was their beginner group lesson, which included equipment rental and a full-day ski lift pass for around $125. If you’re familiar with prices at other ski destinations, you know that is DUMB inexpensive.

I hired a private instructor to teach me the basics of snowboarding, and he was super friendly and helpful. My lesson was around $85.

To top off our very professional snow-sport experience — if you can even call it that 😂 — we did my wife’s favorite activity: snow tubing.

Tubing was about $36 per person for a three-hour session, and it was TOO much fun. The slope is pretty steep, so you definitely pick up some speed and plenty of laughs.

We were completely pooped afterward because, as it turns out, snowboarding is exhausting.

P.S. If you’re like me and used to skateboard and think those mechanics or balance skills are automatically going to transfer over to snowboarding… they don’t lol. Be prepared to fall basically all day. But getting a little better each time is such a sweet reward.

Day 3 – Exploring Cloudcroft

We stayed at The Cabins at Cloudcroft, a cute and cozy little cabin community surrounded by snowy woods.

As soon as we pulled up, there were deer hanging out near our cabin, which immediately set the tone for the entire stay.

After checking in, we decided to get outside and take in the mountains. We headed about a mile outside of town to hike the Cloud-Climbing Trestle Trail.

It was beautiful.

We didn’t see any deer on the actual trail, but they were definitely nearby judging by all the evidence they left behind lol.

The trees were huge, and the reddish ground, towering pines, and little cold-weather shrubs were a clear reminder that we were definitely no longer in Texas.

Once we reached the scenic overlook, we could see what looked like a sea of snow covering the distant basin.

After our hike, we headed into Cloudcroft’s cute little downtown and stopped at a dog-friendly bar called the Western Bar.

The entire place was covered from floor to ceiling in dollar bills and other currency. We sat right at the bar with Obi, and as you can probably imagine, he immediately stole the spotlight.

I remember asking the bartender how much money they thought was hanging on the walls, and they estimated somewhere in the tens of thousands.

Good to know. I now know exactly where I’m going to fund our future trips ;).

To finish off the night, there are some well-known food trucks that park around downtown. We stopped at the Mexican food truck, and the burritos absolutely hit the spot after a few drinks.

And because we’re fat, obviously we still needed dessert.

You HAVE to try the homemade hot pie from Big Daddy’s Diner. After a long, cold day outside working up an appetite, a warm slice of pie with vanilla ice cream hits so good.

Day 4 – White Sands National Park

The next morning, we drove about 45 minutes west to White Sands National Park.

The drive down from the mountains is beautiful, with a few scenic overlooks shortly after leaving Cloudcroft that are absolutely stunning — although maybe not ideal if you’re terrified of heights.

As we got closer to White Sands National Park, we realized something hilarious.

What we had thought was snow in the distant basin during our hike the previous day…

was actually the white sand.

Once we arrived, it felt like we had been transported somewhere completely different.

STUNNING.

The dunes are white like snow and soft and powdery like sugar.

We stopped at the visitor center to get our park pass before heading farther into the dunes. While we were there, we found out that you can actually go sledding down the sand dunes, so of course we had to do it.

We picked up a sled for around $15 and a small bar of wax for about $3. I’m not entirely sure the wax was necessary, but once you drive farther into the park, you’re pretty far from the entrance, so we figured we’d rather be safe than sorry.

I definitely recommend spending a little time around the visitor center before heading into the dunes. Talk to the park rangers because they’re extremely knowledgeable.

When we visited, they had a table set up with examples of the different animals found in the park along with examples of their tracks.

Also, make sure you ask about the ranger-guided tours. They’re free with your entrance but are only offered at certain times and meeting locations.

We spent most of the day just marveling at the seemingly endless sea of white sand.

Because we visited in February, the sand was nice and cool, and we walked around barefoot most of the day.

The sand is so soft and fine that honestly, walking barefoot was more comfortable than wearing shoes.

We also busted our asses more than a few times trying to sled down the dunes.

Meanwhile, Obi was having the time of his little life chasing us down the dunes as we sledded away.

As the evening approached, we headed to the meeting spot for our guided ranger tour, which lasted about an hour.

Our guide happened to also be an environmental scientist, so we really lucked out.

They explained that White Sands is such a rare environment because the dunes are made primarily of gypsum, a mineral that comes from the surrounding mountains and is carried into the basin by rainwater.

Because the basin has no outlet to the sea, the gypsum accumulated over thousands of years, eventually creating the incredible white dunes you see today.

Another fascinating feature is that the water table sits very close underneath the surface of the sand.

Essentially, these gypsum dunes sit over shallow groundwater, helping the dunes retain moisture and giving White Sands an environment unlike almost anywhere else on Earth.

We stayed until sunset, and I cannot recommend that enough.

There was something about the sun sinking behind the mountains combined with the white dunes reflecting the colors of the sky that made the entire moment feel surreal.

The sky turned into soft pastel pinks and light blues against the bright white sand.

It was simply breathtaking.

Final Thoughts

Now that we know we can drive to Cloudcroft whenever we need a snow-sports fix, you can definitely bet on us returning.

If snowboarding, skiing, or tubing is part of your plan, I highly recommend checking the snowfall and mountain conditions before booking your trip so you can get the most out of your visit.

Between alien hunting in Roswell, snowboarding in Cloudcroft, cozy cabins in the mountains, and watching the sunset over White Sands, this little corner of New Mexico completely surprised us.

New Mexico is beautiful.

Cheers, and hopefully you get to experience some alien adventures — or at least some incredible nature — of your own. 👽🏂🏽🏜️