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A Winter Sunset Over Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve / Rebecca Latson
Contributing photographer and writer for the National Parks Traveler since 2012, Rebecca Latson has ventured out to units of the U.S. National Park System, as well as national parks within Canada, on behalf of the Traveler. With her writing and photography, Rebecca authors the Traveler's monthly Photography In The National Parks column as well as various other national park-related articles (hiking, itineraries, photography guides, quizzes) for the Traveler.
When you were a child, did you enjoy playing in the sand box? Child or adult, do you enjoy a sandy beach in which to sink your toes? Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado is home to the tallest sand dunes in North America. While you might not want to sink your toes into this sand during the summer - temperatures can reach up to 150oF (65.6oC) on the sand, even when daytime highs reach around 80oF (26.7oC) - you can hike up a tall dune and use a sled or sandboard to glide back down. And the sand closest to the cool waters of Medano Creek is perfect for building sand castles. Your camera can take in wide-angle and close-up views of the Sangre de Cristo mountains against which these giant dunes abut (sunrise and sunset lighting is sublime), and you might even see pronghorn or elk roaming the landscape surrounding the dunes.
You don’t have to worry about marked trails on the sand dunes – just strike out wherever you wish on that 30 square-mile (77.7-square km) dunefield. If you are looking for a marked trail, there are forested and alpine hikes in the park and you can test your vehicle’s 4x4 capabilities maneuvering the Medano Pass 4WD Road (not recommended for small sport utility vehicles).
A combination of wind, water, and sand created these towering dunes in this national park some 440,000 years ago, and evidence points to human visitation 11,000 years ago and possibly even further back than that. Explorers and settlers traveled through and started living in the area around the late 16th century, resulting in clashes between both Indigenous peoples in the area as well as different cultural groups staking their claims.
Great Sand Dunes attracted over 512,000 visitors in 2023. While this national park and preserve may attract fewer crowds than Yellowstone or Yosemite national parks, it can still get plenty packed during the peak season. And with good reason.
In addition to what you read here, you can also download this 2023 Great Sand Dunes Visitors Guide.
Traveler's Choice For: families, hiking the dunes, sledding or sandboarding the dunes, sandhill crane watching, photography
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Here’s the definitive guide to National Park System campgrounds where RVers can park their rigs.
Our app is packed with RVing- specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 national parks.
You’ll also find stories about RVing in the parks, tips helpful if you’ve just recently become an RVer, and useful planning suggestions.
