Great Sand Dunes National Park Website
This was the first stop of the three National Parks we visited for our June 2021 road trip. We stayed in Alamosa, CO which is about a 40 min drive from the park. Before making your way into the park make sure you stop at the Great Sand Dunes Oasis store just outside the park entrance. This is where you can rent sand boards or sand sleds for your day on the dunes. They are $20 for a full day rental.
For a non 4-wheel drive car there is really only two places to go on this park; the Visitor's Center and the dunes. There is a main parking lot for the dunes and another parking lot further down for the people camping in the park and those offloading 4-wheel drive vehicles. But for most people this main parking lot is the one that you will use as it gives you the closest access to the dunes..
From the Dunes parking lot you cross Medano Creek, which was just a few inches deep when we were there, and trek 3/4 of a mile through the sand to the base of the dunes. This gets you to the smaller dunes and it's where we stopped to do our sledding. You can go another half mile to get to the larger dunes. If you really want to push yourself the highest dunes are a multiple hour walk up. It was only 70°F when we were hiking out to the dunes but it felt like it was 100°F because of the sun reflecting off the sand. All of us were tired by the time we made it to the fist dune. Sand Sledding was really fun and the kids had a great time. Make sure you have plenty of water and sunglasses! Pro-tip: Wear water shoes instead of sandals, they are easier to walk on the sand with, and the sand on the walk to the dunes is too hot to go barefoot.
After we were done sledding we cooled off in the creek which was a welcomed relief.
This park rates at 4 out of 5 stars based on our standard criteria.
Rating Criteria: Fun, Scenic, Ease of Travel, Wildlife, Crowds
PIT STOP: After our sand dune sledding fun we exited the park and went straight west instead of going straight back to Alamosa. We headed to Mosca, CO which is home to Colorado Gators. It's a fish farm that turned into an animal rescue center after bringing in alligators to eat the fish remains after processing.
