Great Sand Dunes

The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado showcases a very impressive and unique landscape. These remarkable dunes lay at the base of the 13,000-foot snow-capped peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. While they are not the largest dunes in existence, they are the tallest in North America and they stretch over thirty square miles.

There is something that made this park feel different from any other U.S. National Park we have visited. Was it because of the silence or the vast open expanse? Or was it because of the dynamic nature of the dune-forming system? In this park, the human footprint is minimal; it’s all about the power of nature at work. We were awestruck in front of this exceptional natural spectacle.

After visiting the dunes, we were lucky to spend a night in a small motel, one of the few lodgings available adjacent to the park entrance. From our back porch, we had an unimpeded view of the valley, the mountains, and the dunes. We watched as the dunes changed colour with the setting of the sun. To add to our luck, the night sky was cloudless (the parkland is a certified International Dark Sky Park). We were awake at sunrise, as the light painted the dunes a soft pink.

The Park is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Colorado State Highway 150 is the only paved road leading to this vast parkland (233 square miles). Because of the park’s special location, it is possible to experience eight different ecosystems within its boundaries: alpine tundra, subalpine forest, deciduous woodland, dune fields, grassland covered in sand deposits, low lying salt-encrusted lands, flowing streams, and wetlands.

It is estimated that the dunes were formed about 440,000 years ago. The floor of the San Luis Valley, wedged between the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the San Juan Mountains, would have been covered by one or several heavily-sedimented lakes that later dried up, leaving behind a large amount of sand.

The formation and constant regeneration of the dunes are the result of a combination of dynamic natural forces: prevailing winds from the southwest blow the sand toward the Sangre de Cristo Mountains; streams flowing down from the sides of those mountains move the sand back down the valley floor (especially in the spring when the snow on the mountain peaks melts); and storm winds from the northeast, blowing through three passes in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, push the sand upwards to give the dunes their elevation. The tallest dune rises 750 feet from its base.

Approximately ninety per cent of the entire park and preserve is protected under the U.S. Wilderness Act, in order to safeguard the groundwater system essential to the ecosystem of the dune field.

Although the individual dunes change continuously at a superficial level, their overall shapes and sizes have remained stable over time since the same quantity of sand is recycled through the process. The visitors centre displays two pictures of the dunes: one taken a century ago and one taken recently, and the dunes look the same.

It is possible to admire the dunes, wade in the streams, climb to the top, or snowboard down the sides of the dunes. There are also some forest trails accessible from the car parks. But to venture further afield toward the mountain summits and alpine lakes, you must drive on what is called a “primitive road,” for which you need to have a high-clearance 4WD vehicle. We did not have to go very far before we had to admit that it was indeed a primitive road, and we were happy to find a place to turn around.

The park brochure states that “In wilderness, people can sense being part of the whole community of life on earth.” Even if we did not explore the depths of the wilderness, we experienced a powerful sense of it through the silence of the park, its vastness, and the clarity of the stars we could see in the perfectly dark night sky.

If you visit there, make sure to see the park at night. You too will be filled with awe. We made the short video below to share our experience. We hope you will enjoy it and understand what words cannot aptly convey.