Land of Liberty Explorers

Overview

President Herbert Hoover established Great Sand Dunes National Monument in 1932 to preserve these amazing sand dunes. Great Sand Dunes was elevated to a national park in 2000. The park preserves the dune field and sections of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Great Sand Dunes National Park is very remote. It is located near Mosca, Colorado about 230 miles south of Denver.

We loved all the wildflowers in the fields below the dunes.

Dog Friendly Park!

We visited the park in August and brought our dog, Liberty, with us. She loved the park, but knowing that sand can reach temperatures of 150 degrees, we took several precautions. We picked up a pair of dog booties from REI before we set out for the park. Liberty hated the booties, so we really didn’t want to put them on her. Instead, we opted to visit the dune field in the evening and early morning before the Sun raised temperatures. Before letting her walk bare-pawed in the sand, we checked the temperature to make sure it wasn’t too hot.

Great Sand Dunes Lodge

We booked a room at Great Sand Dunes Lodge. Don’t let the name fool you – the lodge isn’t in the park like Zion Lodge and it is really more of a motel, but it is definitely the closest hotel to the park. Staff was friendly and accommodating. With all that sand, keeping the place clean is an unimaginable chore. In addition to proximity to the park, another convenience was renting our sand sled from the lodge. Also, we got up early before checking out and played in the dunes for a while. It was nice to have a place to shower before getting back on the road. For more about Great Sand Dune Lodge and other national park lodges, click here.

Montville Nature Trail

We arrived on a warm afternoon. We knew the dunes were too hot for Liberty’s paws, so our first stop was the half mile Montville Nature Trail. It was a great way to get out of car and get moving. The trail begins in a grove of aspen trees, recounts some stories from the 1800s settlement of Montville, and provides views of the dunes and Mount Herard. Liberty loved this trail!

Splashing in Medano Creek

Liberty’s favorite thing to do at Great Sand Dunes National Park was playing in Medano Creek – a seasonal stream that flows down from the mountains. Sometimes the surge flow is high enough for kids to ride down on inflatable toys. The creek wasn’t that prominent when we visited, but rain showers before our visit provided enough water for our four legged companion to splash around a bit.

Sand Sledding in the Dunes

We determined sledding looked easier than sand boarding, so we rented a sled from the lodge. The lodge gave us a sled, a block of wax, and instructions on how to use the wax and sled. We headed out to the dunes with our sled that evening. The first row of dunes was perfect for sledding as the dunes were high enough to get going, but not too high to hike back up after sledding to the bottom. Liberty was content to lay at the top of the dunes and watch us take turns sledding down to the bottom. We enjoyed watching the sunset over the dunes as our first day in the park ended. By hitting the dunes in the evening, we avoided crowds and had a whole dune to ourselves.

Getting up early the next morning paid off as well with smaller crowds in the dunes. Renting the sled from Great Sand Dunes Lodge was also helpful – the line to rent boards and sleds at the Oasis looked pretty long when we drove by.

While there were plenty of people hiking to higher dunes, we were content to play in the lower elevations.

Tips for a fun and enjoyable visit

Be prepared for a little walk to get to the dunes; they are at least a quarter mile from the parking lot.
Dunechairs, specialized wheelchairs made to roll through sand, are available to be checked out for free from the visitor center.
Wear old shoes, or even just socks, in the dunes. We wore old hiking shoes and could not get all the sand out of them no matter what we tried.
Be prepared to have sand everywhere!