Great Sand Dunes NP!

colin.drinkard

colin.drinkard

New member
We took this photo while driving to the park on CO-17. Beautiful view of the contrasting landscapes! Unfortunately, we went during the "mosquito season"... who knew that was a thing?! Not me. Looking forward to going back and exploring more! Has anyone explored this park much?
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We were there in around July 4th 2019. The temps were about 80°F and dry air, so it was very pleasant, but the mosquitoes were the worst I've ever seen anywhere in my life. We ended up cutting our stay short, because we couldn't sit outside without getting eaten alive. The climb to the top of the highest dune is HARD, but worth the view. The river has a phenomena called "Surge Flow" that only happens a few places on earth. You'll see waves flowing downstream in the river, it's a strange sight.

In the first picture, notice the people standing on the dune by the river, the dunes are huge.

Taken from our site:
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I've been there with the family several years ago. Nice clear day. Hiked all the way up to top of the tall dune; what a chore that was! Beautiful scene once up there; quite a reward for the effort.

Didn't know there was a mosquito season! I hate parasites!
 
T & R Willson said:
Beautiful and very impressive. Looks like we need to add Great Sand Dunes NP to our bucket list.
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Start working out now, because it's a LONG climb to the top of High Dune and an impressive site when you get there!

I took this picture from High Dune. If you zoom way in, you can see the river and even see people on the dunes, which give prospective. It took me about 90 minutes to make it up there. It feels like your walking uphill the entire way in sand. :unsure:

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That site was had about the best view of the dunes of any site in the park. It was Loop 1 site #36 - just in case you ever get there!
 
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