Great Sand Dunes National Park

Visited: June 2016

Duration: 4 hours

Great Sand Dunes was a pit stop on the road home from Mesa Verde National Park.  A co-worker had told me it is a must do for the kids. I figured we could at least burn off a bit of energy before the long ride home.

We drove the scenic route from Farmington, New Mexico to Sand Dunes following Highway 160. Some of the most beautiful scenery is along this route, so glad we took it. I could live here and I wouldn’t regret a day of it.

We rolled into Sand Dunes around lunch time and stopped at Great Sand Dunes Oasis for a bite to eat and rented some sand sleds. Headed to the visitor center for info and maps.

Great Sand Dunes National Park is home to the tallest sand dunes in North America. It didn’t take long to discover that this park has a ton to offer, from hiking, backpacking, car camping, camping, fishing and hunting. It is an outdoors-man’s dream. We came to shred the dunes.

Not far from the visitor center is sand dune parking with bathrooms and foot washes.

We walked through Medano Creek and hiked up the dunes.  This is a pretty good trek and hiking up the dunes is great exercise.

We got our sand sledding on and spent several hours doing so. I will say, it is not easy to do.  This sand is very course and hard to sled down. Make sure to keep your board waxed otherwise you aren’t going far. We struggled with this for awhile.

We did have a blast. This place is totally worth a stop if you have a few hours to a day. I wish we had more time to explore the whole park but this experience had us a bit exhausted and ready for the ride home. I think we will be back to do some fishing and camping.

Warning:  It is a bit windy on the dunes, try not to have too much fun smiling and laughing or you might end up like this! LOL

Great time here at this park. Got our cancellations and we are heading home. Have you been here?  What parts did you enjoy?

That wraps up National Park Trip Season 1. Just look what I started. 🙂