Sand Dunes/Medano Creek Loop | Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
Duncan, CO | 07/27/19 | 2.34 miles | 521′ gain
While Day 1 of our San Luis Valley trip was super eventful, on Day 2, we finally got to the main reason for our trip, to see the sand dunes!
Our only real plan was to climb up on the dunes and walk along Medano Creek. Other than that, our morning was open for whatever else we may find in the park.
We arrived pretty early, earlier than the crowds and the heat. We set out from the parking area across Medano Creek, heading for the dunes. There was more water in the creek than I was expecting, but I suppose that’ll happen after a year of high snow-pack.
The water was never more than a few inches deep, and we were easily able to cross with dry feet. Once we got closer to the dunes, the walking became more difficult in the dry sand. We walked along a dune ridge, stopping to take pictures every few minutes.
I traversed to a patch of sparse grass to investigate. Such a unique ecosystem. I was amazed that anything grew at all!
There are no “trails” on the dunes, one can just walk wherever they please. However, there was no wind today so we could easily follow a track all the way to the top of a high dune!
The track got steeper towards the top of the dune, and we huffed and puffed our way up. (Okay, I huffed and puffed. Nicholas was fine.) Turns out sand makes for pretty strenuous walking!
Even though it felt like we stopped a lot, we really made pretty good time and soon “summitted”. (Does the top of a dune count as a summit?)
After taking our summit pictures, we rewarded ourselves with a quick snack break and then headed back down. We took our shoes off and walked barefoot all the way back to the parking area. A much different experience that I would gladly repeat! The water was the perfect temperature and we walked up Medano Creek a short ways before heading off to explore the small Visitor’s Center. There are a number of other trails within the park that we’ll have to come back to explore another day!
Chelsea
Colorado Chelsea 
We were there many, many, years ago and entered the area by way of the back road. It is a rough dirt road, and we made it through in a Subaru. I wouldn’t recommend trying it in a non-4 wheel drive. Anyway, coming from the backside is amazing in that the dunes jut up out of no where. It is a wonderful experience. Glad you got some bare feet in the fun too!
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Oh wow, I didn’t know there was a back road! That sounds like something I will have to check out when I go back!
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We are hopefully going to visit the Great Sand Dunes next month. Your pictures are fantastic, thanks for sharing!
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Thank you! You will love it!
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Beautiful photos.
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Thank you!
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Shot the front door! Way cool! I wanna be you! Thanks for the free time travel and the awesome pics!
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Add this to your list! Super dog friendly too! 😉
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My list is a million mile long 😜😃
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Haha! Mine too!
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Looks beautiful!
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It’s so amazing!
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Hell, yes, a sand dune counts as a summit, especially when it’s two steps up, one step down all the way. Did you get it to squeak for you on the way down?
I dated the resident geologist at the Great Sand Dunes many, many moons ago. He let some of the air out of his tires and we went bouncing over the sandy back roads to a super steep dune that was apparently the best one to run down.
You only run down it once because you sure as hell don’t want to climb that thing twice!
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PS: Go back to the Dunes in February on a calm, sunny day. It’ll be forty degrees in the parking lot but seventy-five in one of those high sand bowls–You can strip down to a bikini and sunbathe!
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No squeaking! I didn’t even know that was a thing. It would be so fun to get a “behind the scenes” tour! Wow, what a thing to experience!
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I need to get back one day anyways because my husband hasn’t been there yet, winter would be a great time to go!
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Great place, but ruined my camera! LOL Have family from that area.
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Oh no! Sorry to hear that! We lucked out with no wind, I can imagine what the blowing sand could do!
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Ha. I ruined my camera on the 4th day into my 2012 trip to New Zealand. Any sunny day pix had spots and it cost me $300 to fix. I learned a lesson then and all my cameras since have had a filter lens attached. Love walking on the dunes through and did it again in 2014 with better results. Stay well Chelsea. Allan
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Oh no! That sounds horrible! I’m glad you were able to find a solution at least, but that was a costly fix.
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