# Trinity Test Site - Worth the Trip? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 22, 2010, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinity-test-site-worth-the-trip/525930 "2010-01-22T01:03:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinity-test-site-worth-the-trip/525930/1 "2010-01-22T01:03:09Z")
[http://www.atomictourist.com/trinity.htm](http://www.atomictourist.com/trinity.htm) Anybody been there? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinity-test-site-worth-the-trip/525930/2 "2010-01-22T01:32:29Z")
Well, it’s an obelisk in the middle of nowhere, and even for that part of New Mexico that’s saying something. There’s not much to see. But if you’re interested, go. I would definitely go on my own and not with the Alamogordo caravan, because I don’t think there’s four hours there. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinity-test-site-worth-the-trip/525930/3 "2010-01-22T01:41:52Z")
From the above website > [@](#): > > At ground zero, Trinitite, the green, glassy substance found in the area, is still radioactive and must not be picked up. Now see if it was me I’d get a bunch of this and give it as presents to people I hate Hee hee hee hee. That alone would be worth the trip ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinity-test-site-worth-the-trip/525930/4 "2010-01-22T01:53:04Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > From the above website > > Now see if it was me I’d get a bunch of this and give it as presents to people I hate > > Hee hee hee hee. > > That alone would be worth the trip I would be very suprised if there was no dosimeter on the bus. Is there no museum on site? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinity-test-site-worth-the-trip/525930/5 "2010-01-22T11:49:20Z")
When I said there’s nothing, there is nothing. It’s not like a lot of other tourist sites, after all. It’s smack-dab in the middle of White Sands Missile Range and they only let people in twice a year. For that matter, there is only one route that is regularly open to the public that goes across White Sands, and that is US-70. And even that is shut down from time to time due to testing or other activities going on. When I lived in Las Cruces one bit of traffic info that was mentioned every morning was whether or not there were going to be any shutdowns of US-70 and for how long. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Buttons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@Mr\_Buttons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Buttons)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinity-test-site-worth-the-trip/525930/6 "2010-01-22T12:27:36Z")
The picture of the 9 year old girl staring at the barbed wire fence, at the bottom of the page, makes me giggle. “Gee… thanks Mom & Dad for bringing me to the desert to stare at a fence AND increasing my exposure to radiation!” 😛 Calling her an “Atomic Tourist” does nothing to help the cause either, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinity-test-site-worth-the-trip/525930/7 "2010-01-22T12:38:55Z")
> [@cerberus](#): > > [http://www.atomictourist.com/trinity.htm](http://www.atomictourist.com/trinity.htm) You might want to check that the information is still valid. I went to the site’s main page, and it says it was last updated in September, 2001. Among the atomic tourist sites, there’s no mention of the [Atomic Testing Museum](http://www.atomictestingmuseum.org/) in Las Vegas, which has been open for a few years now. If you’re interested in the subject, it’s worth a visit. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinity-test-site-worth-the-trip/525930/8 "2010-01-22T15:32:42Z")
There’s also the [The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History](http://www.nuclearmuseum.org/) in Albuquerque. I visited it when it was at Kirtland AFB, but it’s moved since. Back then, it had lots of bombs, missles, planes (even a B-52) and other exhibits. I really enjoyed that visit. ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinity-test-site-worth-the-trip/525930/9 "2010-01-22T16:21:59Z")
OK. There’s really nothing to see. You will have to drive for miles and miles from Albuquerque or El Paso, the nearest airports. It’s been about 7-8 years since I went, but at that time the site was only open once or twice a year. There are warnings not to bring children or pregnant woment, and not to touch your mouth, apply lipstick, smoke, etc. while at the site. I was amazed to see idiots with children who were playing in the dirt at the actual site. And they used to sell the trinityite at nearby shops. I wouldn’t recommend going. Just watch a doc on tv. On the other hand, White Sands National Monument is spectacular. It’s on the other side of Alamagordo, quite a ways away from the Trinity site. As Asterion said, the road is occasionally shut down when they do testing–they really don’t give much advance notice. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinity-test-site-worth-the-trip/525930/10 "2010-01-22T16:28:55Z")
I can see gift shops selling Tee-shirts with mushroom clouds on them or Edward Teller tote bags. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinity-test-site-worth-the-trip/525930/11 "2010-01-22T17:21:44Z")
The atomictourist’s website info on the [Nevada Test Site tour](http://www.nv.doe.gov/nts/tours.htm) isn’t current either. Theres a little more to see on that one. No cameras, though. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trinity-test-site-worth-the-trip/525930/12 "2010-01-22T18:19:17Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_Rat](#): > > There’s also the [The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History](http://www.nuclearmuseum.org/) in Albuquerque. I visited it when it was at Kirtland AFB, but it’s moved since. Back then, it had lots of bombs, missles, planes (even a B-52) and other exhibits. I really enjoyed that visit. There’s also the Bradbury Science Museum (run by LANL) and the Los Alamos Historlcal Society’s museum, both in Los Alamos. I also haven’t been to the atomic museum (or whatever they’re calling it now) since it moved from Kirtland to the museum district outside Old Town.