35 miles northeast of Alamosa, Colorado lays a National Park known for its towering dunes and seasonal beach. The Great Sand Dunes is a beautiful park full of diversity and it offers a natural playground. Within the park, you can hike and backpack, horseback ride, attend ranger programs, and, probably the most popular option – sandboard. The Great Sand Dunes is a national park so it does have some fees for entrance, all of which go towards conserving the park. The most popular times to visit are Spring to Fall with the bulk of visitors in the Summer months. I love this park, it offers a beautiful view and a day (or 3) of fun!

My last visit to this park was in March 2016. It was the first National Park that my road tripping group visited together. If you read my last post, you were introduced to Chandler and Natalie, my road tripping friends. Mariah, our 4th member, was able to join us on this stretch of our trip so she will be in some of the photos as well.

 

What to do

During the day you can find people attempting to climb the tallest dunes in North America. Kids and adults alike love sandboarding and sledding down the dunes. It is a lot of fun, but climbing those dunes is a lot of work, especially at about 8,200 feet above sea level.

When Colorado, specifically in the southeast corner, has a wet winter the following spring brings runoff into the base of the sand dunes. This makes for a refreshing “beach” and it helps cool off visitors as they exit the park. The depth of the Medano creek is dependent on the amount of runoff. Sometimes the creek is flowing for a few months, other years it never holds enough water to flow. You can always check the current conditions and projections for the creek to see if it will be flowing during your visit.

Watching the sun set behind the dunes is jaw-dropping. The serenity of sitting on the sand and watching the sun slowly sink is an experience that is hard to explain. If you’re willing to stay past dark and look at the stars, I’m sure you will see more constellations than you have ever seen before. Just make sure you can get back to your car or campsite safely.

Some things to keep in mind to keep yourself safe:

• The sand can get really hot, especially in the summer
• Make sure to secure all of your belongings before you make it into the sand
  • Nobody wants to ask where their car keys are after they spent 5 hours climbing sand dunes
• Storms develop quickly and you don’t want to be stuck on the sand if there is lightning nearby
• Sand being blown around in the wind hurts so be prepared
• Plan ahead and make sure you’re prepared