How to Visit- Great Sand Dunes National Park
Who would guess in the middle of Colorado there is a desert and it's huge! It is one of the most bizarre things to drive up to. The Great Sand Dunes National Park is located in the San Luis Valley surrounded by the Sangre De Cristo Mountains. I visited the Sand Dunes this past August and would love to share my tips and trick to have the best trip.
The Great Sand Dunes National Park is in southern Colorado and can get there from Highway 160 or 285. My fiancé and I got there from a less-trafficked route from our road trip, but that story is for another blog. The main town to stay in when visiting the park is Alamosa. We stayed at the Days Inn (which you get for what you pay for) but didn't spend much time there besides sleeping. We ate at the San Luis Valley Brewing Company which was very good, and I got the buffalo chicken tenders. The other place I would recommend eating at is Calvillo's Mexican Restaurant. It was the absolute best Mexican food I've ever eaten, and the staff was so nice and gracious! I cannot recommend this place enough. One thing to mention, I did call ahead to all three locations to make sure they were Covid-conscious and I always felt safe.
One fun thing that I recommend doing when in the San Luis Valley is to stay up until about 9-10pm and go star gaze. You will be able to see the entire Milky Way with your bare eyes, it's insane! We drove to the highway150 and parked along the side of the road. There is hardly any light pollution from the towns that you can see so many stars. We also saw about 10 shooting stars that were magnificent.
We were able to get into the park no problem because we have a national park pass but otherwise it would be $25. There is a very large parking lot but, even showing up early at 7am, it was about half full. Be sure to wear closed-toe shoes that you don't mind having sand in them forever. The sun can get very hot by the heat of the day and the park enforces closed-toe shoes. Spoken like a true ginger: always bring sunscreen. There is some shade by the parking lot, but once you walk into the dunes there is no hiding from the sun. With all that sun, you must also bring a lot of water. I recommend a backpack that can hold snacks, water, and sunscreen.
Since we got to the Sand Dunes early in the morning, we decided to walk some ways to the right of the dunes to get our own section to hike. You'll notice most people go for the middle for awesome sandboarding. One fun fact about the dunes is that they change daily with the wind and weather. So even if I recommend a peak for you to climb it won't be the same as it was. We learned it was easiest to walk on the side of the dune ridge that had been shaded because it was more compact. We kept setting new destination goals like "after this next ridge we'll stop." We said that many times. We watched a couple summit the top of one of the tallest peaks and shouted to them asking if the view worth it. They shouted down yes, and we started our climb. Walking on that steep sand was like the saying "two steps forward one step back" but it felt like one step forward 3 steps back. It was quite the workout and our legs were burning. When we made it to the top, however, all the pain and sweat went away the view was amazing.
I recommend going to the Sand Dunes to anyone. If you have any questions about when to go or how to prepare, you can always reach out. The area around the park can be kind of sparse so I can help recommend places to stay and eat. Be sure to go stargazing while you are there and wake up early to hike the dunes. You will have an amazing time at the Great Sand Dunes National Park!
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