8 Tips to Make Your Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado, Trip Effortless
Back in July 2022, I visited Great Sand Dunes National Park. I was thrilled to check out another national park in my favorite state of Colorado but even more excited to explore it through sledding!
Read on to learn tips you can use, as well as my experiences in this park, to help you get a glimpse of the excitement available to you at Great Sand Dunes!
Let’s Start with Some General Knowledge and Tips for the Park
The number one thing you should always do is go talk to a ranger. That, combined with the tips below, will ensure you have some really cool information to take with you when visiting the Great Sand Dunes!
Tip #1: Buy an annual National Park Pass for $80 or a 7-day pass for $25.
After an almost three-hour drive from Buena Vista, I arrived at the park in just enough time to talk to the rangers and strategize my plan for the next day. Here are a few cool Ranger-supplied facts:
The dunes were formed over thousands of years by the sand blown from the San Luis Valley.
The highest dune in the park is over 750 feet tall—the tallest dune in North America!
Two mountain ranges surround the park, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east and the San Juan Mountains to the west (my favorite mountains).
The elevation within the park and preserve ranges from 7,520 feet to 13,604 feet above sea level.
Great Sand Dunes is an International Dark Sky Park
The rangers also recommend going to Oasis Store, 4 miles from the visitor’s center, where you can rent the sand boards. This is the closest store to the park, and you can also shower and pick up camping supplies and gifts.
The next nearest store is at least 40 minutes away!
Tip #2: Bring baby powder with you.
Baby powder helps to take sand off your body fast, and you’ll definitely want to remove it once you’re ready to leave!
After visiting the store, I went to my campground at Zapata Falls, 15-20 minutes from the park. I camped there because the campgrounds in the park filled up long before I planned this trip.
This is a great backup option if you can’t camp inside the park, especially if you like the views. As for me, I headed back to Buena Vista instead of camping for my second night there. Just because my heart was calling me back there.
Tip #3: Check out Zapata Falls, which is next to the campground.
It’s a quick mile-long hike to the falls, and you can go right up to them if you want. I would love to return here in the winter to see them frozen.
Here are a few tips for sledding on the sand dunes!
Tip #4: Bring the right footwear!
I arrived at the park with my board, ready to take on the dunes! I brought my hiking boots, but I am glad I wore my Chacos instead. Hiking in the sand with a day bag and a board wasn’t easy, let alone in hiking boots.
Tip #5: Take your time, enjoy the views, and catch your breath!
Hiking in the sand at altitude isn’t the same as hiking in the sand on the beach.
The goal was to hike to High Dune, the highest dune in the park. It took about an hour to reach the top of one of the dunes, but sadly, I wasn’t on High Dune. I do not know which dune I was on, but I was eager to sled down after an hour or so of hiking in the sand! At that point, it was starting to get pretty warm.
Tip #6: There are no “real” trails or trail markings when hiking the dunes.
If you think you are at the top, you probably aren’t since there are a lot of false summits. Also, download the All-Trails map. I didn’t do that; I just wanted to wander around.
I had never sled on sand before, and I didn’t think it would be that hard since I did it on snow. My friend, I warn you, it is a little more complicated than you think, especially if you have a day bag and a GoPro with you.
Tip #7: If you bring a GoPro, have it attached to you instead of the stick.
That way, you will crash less since you will have two hands to help you steer!
On my first try, I went like 15 feet before I crashed. I got back up and tried again until I crashed again. It was challenging to sled down and videotape, as you will see in my videos. And I wasn’t prepared for how much I wiped out. My friends, you wipe out A LOT. But it’s so much fun to feel the wind (and sand) hitting your face as you come down fast!
After making it down, I decided to hike to another dune to sled down that one, and I kept doing this. At one point, I was hiking up to this one tall and steep dune, and I came across a couple with their dog strategizing about how they would sled down. We became fast friends, providing each other with tips and tricks. If you end up making friends, I suggest trading tips or videotaping for each other.
Then, a family came over, and we decided to sled down on the other side of this steep dune.
Honestly, I was nervous about wiping out on this dune because my body had begun to hurt, and I was finding sand in places that sand hadn’t ever been before. And this was even higher and steeper than the other dunes I was on! If I whipped out, it would not be pretty. I finally decided to try to sled down this dune since the new friends I made all did it, and I was the only one who hadn’t. I asked for a couple of tips before going down and prayed that I would not die.
See the video below.
But then, the dog chased me down the dune before I crashed a little, and then I got back up and sledded down again, gaining so much speed.
It was a fucking AWESOME experience! You really have to do it!
We all went our separate ways as I decided to play on the small dunes and do my headstands before heading back to the car. At this point, it was like 1 or 2 p.m., and I had first arrived there at 7:45 a.m.
Tip #8: You can wash off the sand at the park’s wash area in the parking lot!
Getting rid of all of that extra sand will make your trip back to your campground much easier. Trust me, you don’t want to drive with sand coating your feet and ankles.
My Takeaway
As a solo traveler, you must visit Great Sand Dunes National Park. It is one very unique park with epic views and weather. It has a different energy than other parks I have been to, more of a light, childlike energy. Of course, that’s probably because you see adults playing like children in the sand.
Also, as a solo traveler, it’s pretty easy to make friends as you sled down the tallest dune in North America!