Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Review

The dunes are breathtaking, relaxing, and magical. I wish we could have spent more time, but we enjoyed the time we had.

Rent the sleds, it was a afternoon of fun beautiful place to looking at the mountains

Be prepared to pay a fee to enter. Parking lot is a ways from the actual dunes. Be sure to use the bathroom (which I couldn t locate) before you head out to dunes. Open 24/7 park

Great place for kids (and adults) to burn off some energy. Kudos to those who make it to the top!

This is the view from The Oasis campground at the sand dunes. It was beautiful. The only issue was with the mosquitoes. If you go, stock up on the bug spray.

Fei Lao tried to climb up and saw the sand dunes under the blue sky and white clouds, as well as the snowy mountains in the distance, everything was worth it. It took two hours and fifteen minutes to go up. The last step was a half-step down. The feet couldn't work very hard. It only took twenty-five minutes to get down, running and rolling all the way, very moving.

Pictures will never do this place justice! It s huge, clean and so much fun! Rent some boards or sleds, pack a lunch and make a day of it. Wear water shoes so you don t burn your feet on the sand

Great fun sliding on sand dunes. Rent boogie boards at the Oasis before entering the park. You can park right by the entrance to sand dunes or walk the trail from the museum. Be prepared to wet your feet on the stream before reaching the dunes. And also be prepared for mosquito attacks. They really got me.

You never knew there were so many different san compositions. Take your shoes off and find them all. I especially suggest the deepest sand pockets on the incline side. Or the cold pack sand on the shade side of a dune .

Bring water , lots of water, and a sliding surface to surf on .

One of the most surreal landscapes in the country, with many acres of cascading dunes, the highest of which is around 750 feet high (tallest dune in America). There are other sand dunes, but none can compare with the beautiful backdrop of the San Juan Mountains. Definitely a place to visit at least once in your life.

We started the hike by 6PM to catch the sunset around 8:30, it was gorgeous. Despite some teenagers listening to music while ascending the dunes to sandboard, it was incredibly quiet. Warning: the wind is blowing hard, the sand can hurt your legs, arms and face. Bring some layers to cover your eyes, head.

Amazing! Definitely stay in the visitor center. Allow enough time and energy to climb the dunes. Campground well done.

amazing. simply amazing. sand dunes in the high country, amazing.

Day visit on a vacation be prepared for the hike, rent the proper sand board. Lots of water to drink.

I've been there before. The water is really fun to play in and sand sledding.

The creek was really flowing! We had a great time renting sand sleds and just building sand castles. Seems like there was a lot to do for any age, and even though one of our days was rainy we still had a great time on the sand

An Amazing Park with insane variation in terrain from sand dunes to snow capped peaks. Get into the backcountry and see the amazing sights. There are entrances from every direction and you will not be disappointed from any perspective! Bring water as you will want to spend all day hiking around this beautiful park. Less people hike through the passes on the northeast side and you will be virtually alone in the wilderness!

This park is amazing. You do not want to miss this.

Wonderful park but no one tells you how exhausting it is climbing the dunes.

Loved our time at the Great Sand Dunes National Park, hope we can visit again soon.

Awesome national park that welcomes you to play! It is accessible 24 hours a day. You can play in the stream of water at the base, or you can hike, or sand sled/surf: day or night. There is a 20 minute video as well as helpful park rangers that explain this interesting geographical wonder. This national park is beautiful, unique and not to be missed!!

Absolutely beautiful.

Get there, climb the dunes, then just stand there, with all thoughts stopped. Simply marvel in the magnificence of nature.

Very impressive, 699 foot tall sand dunes very impressive. It just rained before we came here so the sand was packed down some making it easier to walk on. One warning, when crossing the creek there are several mosquitoes, at least after it rains so bring bug repellent. The walk was very pleasant and good exercise. We did not see the whole park but we will certainly come back. The park rangers are very friendly. Great experience and definitely will be back.

This is the most unique national park you will ever visit. It is a must if you are going through Colorado. There is nothing quite like the feeling of freedom you get from getting to climb or run up any dune you see and turning around and watch your tracks disappear behind you.

It's a bit of a drive to get there, but it's pretty cool to see and play on.

Very fun day trip to make. Wear clothes you don't mind permanently having sand in. Also, bring more water than you think is reasonable. It's an exhausting climb!

Amazing! My favorite national park. Do yourself a favor and hike far enough into the dunes to get away from the crowds.

Beautiful with breath taking views (if you climb the dunes or one of the surrounding mountains)

Tallest sand dunes in North America, with some of them over 700 feet tall. They are really cool to look at but it gets hot and takes forever to walk all the way to the dunes.

Beautiful views of an amazing natural phenomenon. The area is isolated, so don't expect much outside of camping and hiking at the park and plan on early morning or late evening to avoid extreme heat.

Wonderful park. The hike up the dunes we tough, but well worth it for the breath-taking view from the top of the tallest dune. Plus, going down was FUN.

$25 to get in for 1 car and good for a week. It looks small from a distance but you will find it's more work than it looks to navigate the sand dunes (I think it was a little over a mile across). Going up a steep dune is like a stear stepper (alot more steep steps needed to go same distance on something solid) Make sure you have time and water if you want to go over more then a few dunes. Note if its windy it will be easier to go with the wind and with the wind in your face it means sand in your nose and mouth and eyes so a mask and glasses are a good idea as wind can pickup from nowhere. Boots tucked into pants are good idea to keep sand out of your socks. If your planning ahead you may want to bring something to sled down the dunes with. Also recommend a good hat and chap stick.

The Great Sand Dunes are vast, awesome and scary. Don't wonder out too far as it's easy to get lost and think you are in a desert. The pictures below are of the landscape just to the south and south west of the dunes. I believe that is Mount Blanca in the background. Nice little town, about enough to do in one day.

Such an exciting place. Where did all that sand come? High in the Rockies.

Really amazing place! You have to see and experience it for yourself.

A new desert look in the middle of hills overall a wonderful view

Just as stunning as the stories and photos would lead you to believe. Shoes are optional, tho during the heat of the day you will definitely want to carry some kind of shoes as the sand gets super hot. The grand dune is absolutely magical at sunset and if you are really looking for a unique experience hang around till well after dark in the dune field. Absolutely dead silent when there is no wind and the stars above you are absolutely magical.

High sand dunes with mountains in the background. That is the special thing.

The dunes are a breathtaking and humbling wonder. The park rangers are a gestapo nightmare that rarely took a break from harassing people in the campgrounds. A potentially great weekend was ruined by hourly interventions of their presence and harassment.

Great even in winter. More personal without the crowds.

Was a really cool place, bring your own sled & snowboard. Really nice hiking trails too.
#LetsGuide

Who would have thought we had sand dunes were there is no water. Very unique.

What an adventure. Plan to get there early to make sure you have a good spot to park. Plan your day so you hike up the dunes in the morning to avoid the crowds and heat of the day.

It's pretty awesome to see if you haven't ever been there before. Make sure to bring lots of sunscreen and water and maybe a hat.

Amazing! Highly recommend for families. Stop by the oasis on the way in and pick up a sand board or sled for 20$. You can use them until 7 and it is such a blast!!

Beautiful National Park
Just be ready for a hot afternoon so come early or come late

Very cool spot. I visited in January and had a blast, no traffic!

Always a good time. Sand Dunes for miles. Be weary of going during the wet season. The mosquitoes were a force of nature. We saw them jump a guy in the parking lot. Then they attacked us on the way to our cars. We had to fight them in the car as we escaped. Pretty sure their friends stole a car and chased us out of the park. 5 Stars - would fight mosquito gang again.

We re 0 for 2 in getting to the top of the Dunes. The first attempt was during the middle of summer. It was so hot and the sand was so loose that we turned around after 10 min. This day, it was cold, windy, and snowing. The sand was blowing quite a bit, and our 20-month old wasn t having it so we turned around again. Recommend high hiking boots, long pants, and maybe even gaiters and some goggles. And sunscreen!

Great sand dunes is a fabulous national park. Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed my time here, I spent about three or so hours hiking to the tallest dune. It was definitely worth the view, although it was strenuous at times. The sand can get extremely hot, but we were able to take our boots off and go barefoot for a while because it had snowed a few days before and it was cool beneath a few inches of the sand. We even saw snow underneath the hot sand! Definitely cool in different experience. Just the fact that the sand dunes are there themselves is fascinating, educate yourself!

This National Park is amazing. Come early if you wanna walk to the top of the dune. It is really huge...

Awesome experience! Take your shoes off if you don't want to shake all the sand out afterwards lol

Interesting. Definitely something you don't expect to see in the Colorado Mountains. Can be fun to sled or snowboard down the dunes. Not much to do without toys from what I could tell.

An amazing natural wonder. My wife and I drove all night from Kansas City, so that we could arrive on time to view the sunrise.

Nice welcome center, filled with tons of Souvenirs & Science information.Clean Restrooms.
Great family experience Hiking through the Sand Dunes, walking like a baby steps through the Sand.Gorgeous landscapes, where you enjoy taking a lots of Pictures
Do not forget to bring your boards & any Kind of Sand Gadgets in order to have a lot a fun with your Kids?
We'll back again!

We made a stop at GSDNP on our summer road trip. You can see the ice capped mountains with lush green trees, a creek with freezing cold water and huge sand dunes at the same time. It s natures miracle. Don t miss this place. It s unique in its ways.

Make sure to bring towels, sunscreen and plenty of water.

Beautiful and unique! Difficult to hike but worth it.

Very cool place. If you bring dogs. The sand is hot in summer. Be careful.

I've been here a couple times now, it's such a unique area. Bring some water and hike up the dunes, we had a great time hiking around and loved the views.

It's more than sand dunes. I felt I am almost in desert... amazing one

The sanddunes are pretty cool. Very fun to hike the dunes. Don t forget to go at night and see the sunset.

Great Sand Dunes National Park is a must see kind of place. It was on my bucket list to see this extraordinary place and you won't be disappointed. The dunes, the mountains and Medano Creek were breathtakingly beautiful. There are campgrounds near by and it would nice to see the night sky because of the lack of light pollution. Alamosa is one of the nearest towns to stay at a hotel if you prefer to go that route.