Nested against the rugged Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the Great Sand Dunes are
the focal point of a wild nature system of high mountain peaks, sparkling
streams, forceful winds, and billions of sand grains. The park was
originally designated Great Sand Dunes National Monument in 1932 to protect the
dunes and surrounding area of 35,528 acres. A boundary change and redesignation
as a national park and preserve was established in 2004 for a combined total
area of 149,028 acres. The park contains the tallest sand dunes (Star Dune
and Hidden Dune) in North America. The dunes cover an area of about 30 sq mi
(~19,000 acres) and are estimated to contain over 1.2 cubic miles (5 billion
cubic meters) of sand.
Getting there ...
We
originally had an early morning (6:55AM) direct flight to Denver. However,
when I woke up at 4:30AM to prepare our journey, I found our flight was canceled
and we were rebooked to a later flight (~8:00AM) with a short 40-min transfer in
Portland (it turned out to be one of the easiest/smoothest transfers we have
ever had: just walking from gate E16 to E15 with a restroom stop in
between). With the flight change, we were delayed for more than 4 hours
than our original schedule, and we arrived at the Great Sand Dune Lodge after
7PM with a cloudy sky and sand dunes in dull
light.
Day 2 (6/5) ...
- Sunrise
Although the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east blocks
the golden sunlight until 30 minutes after the sunrise, the directional
light in the early morning still make the sand dunes very photogenic
objects. I just stepped out to our patio to enjoy the cool and nice
morning.
- Great Sand Dunes
Wind and water move sand continually forming dunes.
Creeks and streams brought in large amounts of sediment and sand into the
valley. Wind then blew the sand toward the bend in the Sangre de Cristo
Mountains, where opposing storm winds helped squeeze the sand into the tall
dunes you see today. However, the real story of how the Great Sand Dunes
were formed is much more complex than this simple explanation....
- Hike to Hidden Dune
We entered the park at about 8:30AM. Since
I rented a 4x4 Jeep, we drove beyond the paved road to the Medano Pass
Primitive Road. Our plan was first stop at the Castle Creek picnic
area and hiked to the Hidden Dune, the tallest sand dune in North America at
741 feet (tied with the Star Dune according to NPS website). Hidden
Dune is named for its remote location in the dunefield, where it is not
visible from most of the main visitor day use areas. After we crossed
the Medano Creek, we found the sand dunes rise steeply (almost 45 degrees?)
and look so daunting to climb. After 45 minutes of struggling on the
steep and soft sand dune slopes, we had to give up our ambitious goal of
reaching the Hidden Dune. We could not even conquer the first ridge of
the sand dunes. We just sit at the middle of the dune slope to take a
breath and enjoy a nice view.
It took us less than 10 minutes to return back down to the bottom of sand
dunes.
- Medano Pass Primitive Road
This is a rough 22 mile road connecting
Great Sand Dunes with the Wet Mountain Valley and Colorado State Highway 69.
Passable only in the warmer months and only with high-clearance 4-wheel
drive vehicles, it gives access to Medano Pass (elevation 10,040’) and Great
Sand Dunes National Preserve. This road crosses areas of deep sand,
traverses Medano Creek nine times, and passes through excellent habitat for
bighorn sheep. The pass typically opens all the way over by late May,
but due to significant road damage at higher elevations, the full opening of
the road was delayed and it only opened up to the 4th creek crossing, 6.4
miles (10.2 km) from the southern entrance of the road.
- Montville Nature Trail & Wellington Ditch Trail
Since we did not
complete any of our plans in the morning (hiking to the Hidden Dune and
driving the Medano Pass Primitive Road), we still had some time and energy
left. We decided to take the short Montville Nature Trail and a small
section of Wellington Ditch Trail, which has a very nice view of sand dunes
from the hill. You can see there were many
people like ants on
the dunes.
- Zapata Falls
After a lunch break in the hotel room, we went to the
Zapata Falls just outside the park boundary. It is a good option for
summer afternoons when sand surface temperatures are high. The hike to the
falls requires wading over slippery rocks into a rock crevasse where the 30
ft. high falls cascade onto a ledge with a patch of ice.
- Late afternoon and sunset at Great Sand Dunes
Day 3 (6/6) ...
- High Dune
The High Dune on the first ridge is neither the
highest in elevation nor the tallest in the dunefield, but it looks that way
from the main parking lot. This is the most common destination in the
dunefield, providing a great view of the entire dunefield. It is about 692
feet (210 m) from base to top. Compared to the Hidden Dune hike
yesterday, this was much easier: crossing a half-mile of the Medano
Creek bed, then zigzag up with much gentle slope along ridgelines.
- Alamosa & Gators Farm
Since we did not have a real meal in the last 2
days (the restaurant at the lodge was closed due to some COVID cases), we
drove for ~30 miles to a nearby town Alamosa to have our first nice meal
(and coffee) for this trip. After lunch, we visited the Colorado
Gators Reptile Park (or Gators Farm). It started as a Tilapia
farm in 1977 utilizing the geothermal waters of the valley. They
found themselves with fishy problem: a surplus of dead fish. In 1987 they
bought 100 baby alligators to take care of the fish remains naturally. These
baby alligators grew fast in the warm, geothermal waters and locals started
asking if they could see them. The Gator Farm opened to the public in 1990,
showcasing their tilapia ponds and enormous alligators. As time
progressed, the farm took on another role as an Exotic Animal Refuge. Now
the refuge holds not only alligators, but tortoises, iguanas, snakes, and
emus, etc.
Day 4 (6/7) ...
- Sunrise
Another nice sunrise outside our room!
-
Royal Gorge Bridge and Park
On the way back to Denver airport, we made a detour to visit Royal Gorge
Bridge & Park, home of America's highest suspension bridge, 956 feet over
the Arkansas River. It also has quite a few tourist attractions such as
aerial gondola, zip line, Skycoaster, etc. When I first visited here
in 2000 (to attend a conference in Denver), none of these tourist
attractions existed :-)
Going Home ...
It's another 2.5-hour driving from the Royal Gorge to Denver. When we
passed Colorado Spring, we suddenly entered a storm of dark clouds with heavy
rain and big hail. It was so loud that we could barely hear anything else.
After just short 5 minutes, we were out of the storm and the sky was beautiful
again. The complex and fragile dune system and the diversified
ecosystems ranging from wetlands to forest to tundra make the Great Sand Dune
National Park and Preserve a unique place to visit. You are never too old
to enjoy the big sandbox!
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We
originally had an early morning (6:55AM) direct flight to Denver. However,
when I woke up at 4:30AM to prepare our journey, I found our flight was canceled
and we were rebooked to a later flight (~8:00AM) with a short 40-min transfer in
Portland (it turned out to be one of the easiest/smoothest transfers we have
ever had: just walking from gate E16 to E15 with a restroom stop in
between). With the flight change, we were delayed for more than 4 hours
than our original schedule, and we arrived at the Great Sand Dune Lodge after
7PM with a cloudy sky and sand dunes in dull
light.
