Great Sand Dunes National Park
Great Sand Dunes National Park, Mosca, CO
San Luis Valley, CO
A sea of sand up to 750 feet tall, heaped against snow-capped peaks in a high desert valley, where you can sled the dunes, splash in a seasonal mountain creek at their feet, and watch a sky full of stars at night.
In the middle of a high desert valley in southern Colorado, where you would least expect it, stands a mountain range made of sand. The dunes of Great Sand Dunes National Park rise as much as 750 feet from the valley floor, the tallest in North America, and they are heaped directly against the snow-streaked wall of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The result is one of the most surreal landscapes in the country: an ocean of golden sand with alpine peaks rising straight up behind it.
It is also one of the most playful national parks there is. You can climb to the crest of the dunes and sled or sandboard back down, and in spring a snowmelt stream called Medano Creek spreads out at the base of the sand to form a wide, shallow beach where families wade and splash in the middle of Colorado. And because the valley is so remote and dark, the show does not end at sunset: the park is famous for skies thick with stars.
What Guests Love
- Climbing and sledding the tallest sand dunes in North America
- Splashing in Medano Creek, a seasonal beach at the base of the dunes
- The surreal sight of golden dunes against snow-capped peaks
- Some of the darkest, most star-filled night skies anywhere
Worth Knowing
- Medano Creek flows only in spring and early summer from snowmelt, and it is the best time for the beach experience
- The sand can get blistering hot on summer afternoons, so hike the dunes early or in the evening
- Bring a real sandboard or sand sled; ordinary snow sleds do not slide well on sand, and rentals are available nearby
- It is a certified Dark Sky park, so plan to stay after dark for the stars, and bring layers for the cool high-desert night
Details
San Luis Valley, CO
Learn about Great Sand Dunes National Park
The tallest dunes on the continent
The dunes were built over tens of thousands of years, as sand blown across the wide San Luis Valley piled up where the prevailing winds meet the barrier of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Trapped in that pocket, the sand grew into a dunefield covering some 30 square miles, with the highest dunes towering around 750 feet above the valley floor, the tallest in North America.
Climbing them is a workout, and a joy. There are no trails on the dunes; you simply pick a ridgeline and go, sinking and sliding your way toward the crest, with the whole valley and the peaks opening up behind you. The classic reward is the descent: strap on a sandboard or a sand sled and slide back down the slopes, the signature thrill of a visit here.
Medano Creek and a valley of many worlds
In spring and early summer, melting snow from the mountains sends Medano Creek flowing along the base of the dunes, where it spreads into a wide, shallow, sandy-bottomed stream. It behaves like a beach in the mountains: kids build sandcastles, families wade, and the creek even pulses with gentle surge waves created by sand ridges collapsing upstream. By late summer it usually dries up, so its flow is the thing to check when planning a trip.
The dunes are only the centerpiece of a landscape of astonishing variety. In a short distance the park runs from wetlands and grasslands through the sand to aspen and conifer forests and up to alpine tundra on 13,000-foot peaks, six life zones stacked together. That range means a visit can pair sand play at the bottom with cool mountain trails and waterfalls just up the road.
A sky full of stars
Far from any city and cradled in a high, dry valley, Great Sand Dunes has some of the darkest skies in the country and is a certified Dark Sky park. On a clear, moonless night the Milky Way arches from mountain to mountain and the dunes glow faintly under the starlight, an unforgettable sight that draws stargazers and photographers.
That day-to-night range is what makes the park special. You can start a summer day wading in a snowmelt creek, spend the afternoon sledding a mountain of sand, watch the sunset turn the dunes to gold against the peaks, and end the night under a sky brilliant with stars, all in the same remarkable corner of southern Colorado.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near San Luis Valley
Zapata Falls
About 12 miles
A hidden waterfall tucked in a rock cleft in the Sangre de Cristo foothills, reached by a short rocky walk with big views over the dunes.
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
At the park
The jagged 13,000-foot range rising directly behind the dunes, with alpine trails, forests, and the rugged Medano Pass primitive road.
Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge
About 30 miles
Wetlands along the Rio Grande in the San Luis Valley, a haven for cranes, waterfowl, and other birds against a mountain backdrop.