Trinity Site opens doors to atomic history

Open house scheduled for April 2

Posted

White Sands Missile Range will open Trinity Site to the public on April 2. Trinity Site is where the world’s first atomic bomb was tested at 5:29:45 a.m. Mountain War Time July 16, 1945.

The open house is free and no reservations are required. At the site, visitors can take a quarter-mile walk to Ground Zero where a small obelisk marks the exact spot where the bomb was detonated. Historical photos are mounted on the fence surrounding the area.

Visitors may ride the missile range shuttle bus 2 miles from Ground Zero to the Schmidt/McDonald Ranch House, where the scientists assembled the plutonium core of the bomb. Visitors can experience life as it was for a ranch family in the early 1940s.

There are two ways to access Trinity Site.

Nearest to Las Cruces, a guided caravan leaves from Tularosa. Vehicles meet at Tularosa High School Athletic Field at 7 a.m. The caravan is limited to 125 vehicles and leaves promptly at 8 a.m.

The other entrance is through White Sands Missile Range via the Stallion Range Center Gate, 5 miles south of U.S. Highway 380. The turnoff is 12 miles east of San Antonio and 53 miles west of Carrizozo. The nearest city for hotel reservations is Socorro.

This is a free event. The Stallion Gate is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visitors arriving at the gate between those hours will be allowed to drive unescorted the 17 miles to Trinity Site. The road is paved and marked. The site closes promptly at 3:30 p.m.

To enter the range all vehicles, proof of insurance and registration are required; and all adults require picture ID. For more information, visit www.wsmr.army.mil/Trinity/Pages/Home.aspx.


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