page_title: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
section_title: Recreation
hierarchical_section_title: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve / Recreation
caption_attribution_description: NPS/Patrick Myers
context_page_description: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is an American national park that conserves an area of large sand dunes up to 750 feet tall on the eastern edge of the San Luis Valley, and an adjacent national preserve in the Sangre de Cristo Range, in south-central Colorado, United States. 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. A boundary change and redesignation as a national park and preserve was authorized on November 22, 2000, and then established by an act of Congress on September 24, 2004. The park encompasses 107,342 acres while the preserve protects an additional 41,686 acres for a total of 149,028 acres. The recreational visitor total was 527,546 in 2019.
  The park contains the tallest sand dunes in North America. The dunes cover an area of about 30 sq mi and are estimated to contain over 1.2 cubic miles of sand. Sediments from the surrounding mountains filled the valley over geologic time periods.
context_section_description: Accessing the dunes requires walking across the wide and shallow Medano Creek. The creek typically flows past the main dunes parking area from late April through late June, with peak flow occurring from late May to early June in most years. In other months, the creek is usually only a few inches deep, if there is any water at all. Hiking is permitted throughout the dunes, with the warning that the sand can get very hot in the summer, up to 150 °F (66 °C). Sand wheelchairs are available at the visitor center. Sandboards and sand sleds can be rented just outside the park entrance or in Alamosa which is the closest city.
  Mosca Pass Trail is a 7 mi (11 km) roundtrip hike that follows a small creek through aspen and evergreen forests to Mosca Pass—elevation 9,737 ft (2,968 m)—in the Sangre de Cristo Range. American Indians and early settlers used this route for travel between the San Luis Valley and the Wet Mountain Valley to the east. Several trails located in the northeastern section of the park lead to alpine lakes high in the mountains. A trail to Medano Lake and the summit of Mount Herard is located off Medano Pass Road. A trail along Sand Creek leads to the Sand Creek Lakes and Music Pass—elevation 11,380 ft (3,470 m)—with a view of the Upper Sand Creek basin. Spur trails along Sand Creek lead to the four alpine lakes which feed the creek, and to several 13,000 ft (4,000 m) peaks above the basin. The Sand Ramp Trail traverses between the dunefield and the mountains, connecting the park's campground to Medano Pass Road (follow the road up to Medano Lake and Pass), as well as the base of the Sand Creek Trail. Most of the park's grasslands, shrublands and wetlands have no established trails but are generally open to hiking. The Nature Conservancy's Medano Ranch property may only be visited on a guided tour. A fence surrounds the property to contain the Conservancy's bison herd and demarcate the boundaries.
  Medano Pass Road is a 22 mi (35 km) four-wheel drive (4WD) road that begins where the main park road ends. The unpaved road crosses Medano Creek nine times and traverses 4 mi (6.4 km) of deep sand. Only street-licensed 4WD motor vehicles or motorcycles, and bicycles are permitted. Fat tire bikes are the only type of bicycle recommended by the park service due to the deep sandy stretches. The road winds around the eastern side of the dunefield, up through a forested mountain canyon inside the National Preserve, and then over Medano Pass—elevation 9,982 ft (3,043 m)—at the 11.2 mi (18.0 km) mark. The road then continues down into the Wet Mountain Valley and connects with Colorado State Highway 69. Travellers are advised that hunting is permitted in the National Preserve during the months of autumn.
  Most of the national park and the entire national preserve are open to horseback riding and pack animals. Prohibited zones include all developed areas—such as the Pinyon Flats campground, picnic areas, and the visitor center—all paved roadways and many of the hiking trails, along with the dunes area from the parking lot to as far as the High Dune, which is for pedestrian use only. All national park horse camping areas are in the wilderness in designated backcountry campsites or other wilderness areas at least 0.25 mi (0.4 km) from roads or trails. Camping is permitted most places in the national preserve and at designated sites along the Medano Pass Road, as long as minimum impact guidelines are followed. Permitted pack animals in the national park and the preserve include horses, mules, burros, donkeys, alpacas, and llamas. Overnight guests at the Zapata Ranch may take guided trips into the park; Zapata Partners is the only NPS-licensed provider of horseback riding in the Great Sand Dunes.
  Unlike all other national parks in the contiguous United States, Great Sand Dunes National Park is located directly adjacent to a national preserve. The preserve is also managed by the National Park Service and seasonal hunting is permitted there. Sport hunting has regulations which include not pursuing a wounded animal if it leaves the prese
caption: Mosca Pass Trail
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