WSMR expecting 'Oppenheimer' to draw long lines to October Trinity Site Open House
White Sands Missile Range will open its gates once again this year for the biannual Trinity Site Open House Saturday, Oct. 21.
Trinity Site is the location of the first atomic bomb test conducted in the early morning hours of July 16, 1945. The test was followed less than a month later by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan leading to the end of World War II. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed in the attack.
The site is located about an hour north of Las Cruces on WSMR’s upper range. The installation opens the range to the public twice a year for people to visit the site of the detonation, marked by an obelisk, and the Schmidt/McDonald Ranch House where the bomb was assembled.
According to a news release, WSMR organizers are expecting a higher volume of visitors Saturday due to the release of “Oppenheimer” earlier this year. Wait times can be up to two hours to get on site.
People can enter the WSMR range at Stallion Range Center gate, located five miles south of U.S. Highway 380, east of San Antonio. The gate will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Alamogordo Caravan will take the first 125 vehicles to the site as well. The caravan will leave at 10 a.m. from the Tularosa Football Field parking lot. Contact the Alamogordo Center of Commerce at 575-437-6120 for more information.
Trinity Site will close at 3:30 p.m. Visitors will be admitted for free.
The next open house will be held April 6, 2024.
Leah Romero is the trending reporter at the Las Cruces Sun-News and can be reached at 575-418-3442, LRomero@lcsun-news.com or @rromero_leah on X, formerly Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: WSMR expecting 'Oppenheimer' to draw long lines to October Trinity Site Open House
