{"id":302,"date":"2021-05-31T10:32:44","date_gmt":"2021-05-31T16:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/rv\/?p=302"},"modified":"2021-05-31T10:35:05","modified_gmt":"2021-05-31T16:35:05","slug":"great-sand-dunes-national-park-what-can-be-done-in-one-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/rv\/2021\/05\/31\/great-sand-dunes-national-park-what-can-be-done-in-one-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Sand Dunes National Park: What Can Be Done in One Day?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Relaxing in a camp chair on Medano Creek in Great Sand Dunes National Park.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I figured I’d peel off two of the activities from our weekend in the San Luis Valley into separate blog posts. I realized I didn’t find a ton of consolidated information about spending a day at Great Sand Dunes National Park<\/a>, so I figured I’d write about our personal experiences.<\/p>\n

The Great Sand Dunes are exactly that: this unusual feature of sand dunes sitting in the middle of Colorado. A geologic abnormality, although it is well explained why this fine sand ended up in a pile nestled up against the Sangre de Cristo mountains<\/a>. You definitely experience the southwest prevailing winds — which are responsible for the piling of the sand against the mountain range —\u00a0 while you’re there.<\/p>\n

The creeks nearby and in the park also play a role in the geologic formations. Read about the park’s hydrology here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

When to Visit<\/h2>\n

We visited Great Sand Dunes National Park on Saturday, May 22, 2021. I think many will tell you that the month of May is the best time to go, because of Medano Creek “running”: the snowmelt flows down from the southwest slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains nearby, and turns into a wide, shallow creek that flows across the base of the sand dunes on the southeast side of the park. The area just southeast of the main dunes area is transformed into a “beach”.<\/p>\n

The trick, though, is that the start and stop dates for the “running” of the creek can be complicated to predict. It depends on the amount of snowfall the previous winter as well as the temperatures in May, which need to be warm enough to prompt the snowmelt. Also, the magnitude of the melting will contribute to how fast and deep the creek flows.<\/p>\n

Just the same, the weekends in May are very crowded with visitors and Colorado natives who hang out at Medano Creek for a “day at the beach”. After the creek finishes flowing the snowmelt (usually in June sometime), the experience becomes much warmer and some will tell you that it’s downright unpleasant by July\/August. The sand gets very hot, with no shade on the dunes.<\/p>\n

Great Sand Dunes National Park is a small park. At least, compared to the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. You could see much of it in a day…a LONG day, but I’d recommend at least 2 days to do everything comfortably.<\/p>\n

What to Pack<\/h2>\n

Thanks to our neighbors here in Colorado Springs, who had camped at the park earlier in May, we received some good tips on what to take into the park. There is a visitor center about a mile from the parking for the creek area, but I’ll mention momentarily the difficulties with that.<\/p>\n