Great Sand Dunes National Park

Great Sand Dunes from Space

"Dunes Among Diversity 
The tallest dunes in North America are the centerpiece in a diverse landscape of grasslands, wetlands, conifer and aspen forests, alpine lakes, and tundra. Experience this diversity through hiking, sand sledding, splashing in Medano Creek, wildlife watching, and more!"

So reads the U.S. National Park Service description of this unusual national park. Approaching from a distance, it really doesn't seem that unusual. In fact, it appears as a small strip, or smear at the base of the Sangre De Cristo mountains.

As one draws closer the dunes finally get some definition:

Only after turning onto the entrance road and driving several miles does the true magnitude of this national park become visible. As is true with all of the national parks, taking a leisurely hike reveals the beauty and wonder.

A Fun Stop
We spent an afternoon at the park. It was a wonderful day in the sun. The Medano Creek was wet but easily crossed, and we hopped and zig-zagged to find the driest route and to avoid the deeper areas. We got wet feet, but that was all. Our sneakers dried quickly upon our return to the RT.

We have had some travelers comment on the flies and other pests, but we did not encounter this. We parked at the visitor's center and walked the trail in a northwesterly direction toward the Medano Creek. This was our first hike of several at this park. It was a very pleasant hike and we encountered some of the diverse wildlife in the area.

From the visitors center there is a good view of the dunes. It requires a telephoto lens to get some idea of the distance and to clearly discern the people walking the dunes:

We decided to walk the path from the visitor center toward the dunes. This path goes in a northwesterly direction and then turns northeasterly as it crosses Mosca Creek. It then traverses a parking area. The path points directly at the "High Dune" which has a height of 699 feet.  This is not the highest dune in the park. The "Star Dune" is taller at 755 feet.  The distances and heights can be deceiving.

Along the way we encountered both flora and fauna, including a small herd of about 12 deer. There are several near and under the two trees in the center of this photo:

Here's a few telephoto photos of that same area:

We continued on the path, in a direction to the right of the deer. There were cacti and other flowering plants along the way:

As we continued on the path toward the dunes and became closer to the deer, the deer decided they didn't want to mingle with us and so they departed:

Looking back toward the visitor's center, it became apparent we has walked a good distance:

We were tantalizingly close to Medano Creek and the dunes:

However, we decided to return to the visitor's center, get our vehicle and proceed to the parking area immediately adjacent to the creek.   We drove the short distance, parked and made the short walk to Medano Creek. We crossed easily and headed for the dunes:

Sand, beautiful sand!

The dunes don't seems to be very large or distant, but zooming in with a telephoto lens reveals just how massive they really are. You can see some of the dancing sand in the upper left hand corner of this photo:

I continued the walk to the dunes, leaving G to chat with another visitor.  You might notice the haze at their feet. It was windy, and that is blowing sand. In fact, I marvelled because the dancing sand of the dunes did seem to be alive:

Link to National Park Service Webcam:

Clicking will open a  New Window> Current Webcam Photo


Continued in Part 2