Great Sand Dunes National Park

About this place

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is a national park in south-central Colorado protecting huge sand dunes on the eastern edge of the San Luis Valley, and an adjacent preserve in the Sangre de Cristo Range, about 39 km northeast of Alamosa in a straight line. The area became a national monument in 1932 and a national park and preserve in 2004, together covering about 603 square kilometres. The park holds the tallest sand dunes in North America, up to 230 metres high, covering about 78 square kilometres. They formed as sediment from the surrounding mountains filled the valley over time; as the valley's lakes receded, the wind carried the exposed sand towards the mountains. Pale sand dunes with sharp-edged ripples rise in front of the snow- and forest-covered Sangre de Cristo Mountains, with green meadows at their foot where wild sunflowers bloom in summer, and the sand turns orange at sunset. Visitors hike up the dunes and slide down them on boards, and wade in the seasonal Medano Creek at their base in late spring. The sand gets very hot on summer afternoons, so climb in the morning or evening.