Ultimate Guide to Great Sand Dunes National Park
Great Sand Dunes National Park is a must see for all hikers and outdoor enthusiasts on a Colorado road trip! Use this guide to plan your trip with everything to do and see while you're there.
Things to do at Great Sand Dunes National Park
With only a half day at this national park, we didn't have a whole lot of time to explore. I've included some things we didn't have time to do but probably would have done if we had more time.
Hiking
This was the activity we prioritized highest. Most visitors enjoy the dunes close to the parking lot, but I cannot recommend hiking to the top of High Dune enough. It appears to be the tallest dune, but Star Dune is actually the tallest.
It's supposedly a 3 mile hike, but there's no trail so I would say the length could vary greatly. It took us about an hour and a half to hike. These numbers may not seem like much, but don't underestimate the difficulty of hiking through sand. We had to make frequent stops to catch our breath and it felt like we were making no progress on the steep slopes of the dunes. This was our first stop at higher elevation, so I'm sure that added to the difficulty as well.
The views are absolutely stunning. It felt like we were standing in a computer desktop background. From the top, the dunes seem to go on forever. I've been to a lot of national parks in this country and I think hiking these dunes is one of the most unique things I've ever seen.
Sand boarding
I was really looking forward to sand boarding or sledding here. We woke up early and drove to Great Sand Dunes Oasis to rent our boards/sleds only to find out they didn't open until 9am. We decided to hike the dunes and come back later.
As much as I wanted to sand board, we were all exhausted after hiking the dunes. It's a decent walk to the dunes from the parking lot and none of us were motivated to walk all the way back out to get sand boards.
Zapata Falls
Located just outside of the park, this falls is less than a mile hike round-trip. It's supposed to be an easy hike too. This was never a must see on my list of things to do, but if we had time, I would have checked it out.
Medano Creek
This is something I would love to go back and see. This shallow creek flows right in front of the dunes and looks like a great place to hang out and spend the afternoon. We were there in the fall, so the creek was completely dried up. Visit the park in the spring to see this creek.
Getting to Great Sand Dunes National Park
Denver is the closest major airport to the park and it's about a 4 hour drive away. There's a $25 entrance fee to get into the national park. Another option is the America the Beautiful Annual Pass which covers entrance to all national parks for $80/year.
Where to stay around Great Sand Dunes National Park
If you're camping or staying in an RV, I highly recommend staying at Piñon Flats Campground inside the park. At $20/night, it's incredibly affordable. There are no hookups, but there is a common water and dump site.
Pick a site with a view of the dunes. The campground is peaceful and there's nothing like waking up to views of the sand dunes out the back window.
Outside of camping, most lodging options are a little further away. Alamosa is the closest town and is likely the best bet to find a hotel. It's about a 40 minute drive from the park.
Best time to visit Great Sand Dunes National Park
The weather in early September was gorgeous. The high was in the upper 70s and overnight temperatures were cool. One thing to keep in mind is that during the summer, the sand gets very hot in the afternoon. It's better to get up early and explore the dunes in the morning. I'd recommend visiting in the spring to see Medano Creek or in the early fall once temperatures have started to cool down.