Great Sand Dunes National Park

I was so shocked to arrive at the dunes and find a creek circling the dunes. We had to cross the stream before climbing the dunes, which made the whole experience surreal. It is a perfect summer day “spot”. Bring the beach chairs and spend the day in the warm sun, in a cool stream, with your toes in the sand.

I used to live in the closet town to the Sand Dunes. They are amazing and don’t be surprised if you come upon horses with webbed feet because there has been reportings of mutated animals living within the dunes. :]

It’s amazing and everyone should have that experience. But be prepared to have sand in your hair and under your nails for a couple weeks. It’s also best to be wearing some type of sandal [the sand is easier to get out.]

One other thing, don’t go when it’s windy [the San Luis Valley is notorious of being windy] unless you want bruises and maybe even a little cut or two on those windy days.

I went here one summer with my dad and step mother. There were kids snow-boarding down the dunes! Looked like lots of fun.

You HAVE to rent or drive a 4X4 and go on the backroad next to Medano Creek. It is a fun drive and you get to see the dunes up close and from a different perspective. :-)

We thought it would be fantastic to belly flop down the dunes..
overtired from dancing all night at the UFO Watch tower I ended up digesting 2 lbs of sand…
For every 2 steps you make you go back 1…takes along time to get to the middle of the dunes

...it really is a pile of sand. If you are passing through the region and visiting Mesa Verde or 4 Corners it is worth a stop. Anticipate a bit of walk to reach the dunes but it is a pleasant enough stroll.

My family stopped here when I was younger on one of our many Colorado roadtrips. We spent a few hours climbing up and down the dunes. What I really remember though is coming back to the car and having to unload the massive amount of sand which found its way under all of my clothes. :)

I took some old snow boards and did some sand dune skiing! Oh what fun, not that easy to walk up to the top, take a lot of water and be well rested for the hike up the 750 feet sand dunes

The Great Sand Dunes are such a blast. Good camping. Enjoyable hike (hot usually, but enjoyable). Then you go throwing yourself off sand cliffs only to land softly on the slope. A total blast. The surrounding Sangre de Cristos are a nice back drop for the whole area too.

Hands down, one of my favorite nat’l parks… so beautiful! Be careful in the summer though, it gets HOT.