Been there...dune that...

Great Sand Dunes National Park

We had a day and a half to spend in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado - it had many more dimensions than we realized! On our way we had a quick stop at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. Garden of the Gods Park provides dramatic views, sandstone rock formations ( some over 300-foot high ) and a chance to sneak a peak of Pikes Peak (a 14,115-ft. pink granite peak). Our favorite rock formation was the "Kissing Camels".

Great Sand Dunes -Living in a Postcard Landscape

When we arrived at the park - the landscape looked like it was a painted picture for a postcard!

Medano Pass Primitive Road

We drove the Medano Pass Primitive Road literally to the "Point of No Return". The aspen trees and cottonwoods were a brilliant fall yellow and the landscape was gorgeous.

Sand Sledding

The most fun thing we did all trip was to go sledding on the sand dunes. There is a parking lot for the dunes that opens up to a flat span of sand to get to the dunes. The dunes are always changing formation due to water and rain...so there are no formal runs...you just pick a dune...hike out...make sure your sand board is waxed and enjoy the ride! We used muscles that had been on sabbatical for quite some time climbing up the dunes and walking the ~1.5 miles back and forth in the sand to reach them. Despite sticking to "bunny dunes" -they voiced their displeasure big time later that night!

Great Sand Dunes Lodge

We were able to get a room at the Great Sand Dines Lodge just outside the park. Our back deck directly faced the dunes and mountains and we enjoyed a sensational sunset. In the morning we enjoyed our coffee and we were struck by the absolute silence. We live in an area where we always have background noise of traffic, sometimes sirens etc. that we don't even notice- until we noticed its absence. It was beautiful and , forgive my cheesiness, Zen-like!

Mosca Pass Trail

Most people mainly focus on the dunes and Medano Creek when they visit. The Preserve also contains a sizeable section of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. This trail is the path into the mountains that starts beside the dunes. It was really interesting to only see glimpses of the dunes at the beginning and end of the trail .The trail itself is filled with cool rock boulders, a little stream, pine trees - oh and mountain lions (per the sign to be careful due to recent sightings on the trail)! Our favorite part was the tunnel of yellow leafed aspen trees. We highly recommend -this was a pretty trail and not at all busy!