Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
North America’s tallest dunes rise where sand, wind, creek flow, grassland, wetlands, forest, and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains meet. Walk Medano Creek and lower dunes before committing to a high ridge; distance and heat are deceptive on loose sand.
Artwork inspired by John F. Carlson
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is a national park of the United States that conserves an area of large sand dunes on the eastern edge of the San Luis Valley, and an adjacent national preserve in the Sangre de Cristo Range, in south-central Colorado. The park was originally designated Great Sand Dunes National Monument on March 17, 1932, by President Herbert Hoover. The original boundaries protected an area of 35,528 acres (55.
Walk Medano Creek and lower dunes before committing to a high ridge; distance and heat are deceptive on loose sand. Look beyond the dune field to the watershed and wind regime that continually recycle sand into the basin.
- Landscape
- North America’s tallest dunes
- Access
- Creek flow and road access are seasonal
- Allow
- 4–6 hours
Quick guide
- Interpretive pair
- Dune field ↔ watershed and sand-recycling winds
- Closing move
- the transition between developed access and the wider landscape
Build an evidence-led visit to Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
- Choose
- Start before the sand heats
- Notice
- Read wind patterns across dune ridges
- Read the system
- Connect dunes with watershed, wind, and recycled sand.
- Prepare
- Hot sand, seasonal creek flow, storms, and altitude change quickly.
Good to know
Sand can become dangerously hot, creek flow is seasonal, storms arrive quickly, and the park has no shade on the dune field.
Notice these
- North America’s tallest dunes rise where sand, wind, creek flow, grassland, wetlands, forest, and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains meet.
- Look beyond the dune field to the watershed and wind regime that continually recycle sand into the basin.