To feel like you are on another planet without leaving this one, plan a stop at Great Sand Dunes National Park.
This magnificent and fun destination was the third stop of our Colorado summer vacation.
Some related posts:
Stop 1: Mesa Verde National Park
The 4 books I read on vacation!
Great Sand Dunes can be experienced in one day but I would recommend staying in the area overnight because the weather is so volatile it is good to have some extra time.
For example, when we arrived late afternoon it was raining with an impending storm and it rained all night, but we did get a few hours in the next day before we were chased out by another storm, which come so quickly in this area. Also if it is not raining, the sand will get really hot so you probably want to be there during late evening or early morning.
Once again we used my 4th grader’s Every Kid Outdoors pass to get us in Free!
From the first dunes parking lot, you will walk over a creek bed which at certain times of the year is deep enough for light rafting but when we were there it was just enough to get your feet wet. Then it is quite a long walk to the dunes and an even longer, more strenuous walk if you want to climb to the highest of them, which two of my family did. Not me, as I was already having elevation issues. I wouldn’t recommend this for people who have mobility or health issues.
The park is dog friendly, and our dog loved it. Just like Mesa Verde, this seems to be a lesser-visited park; it wasn’t crowded when were there in late June.
Sledding!
Beyond the spectacular scenery of these dunes – which sorry Indiana Dunes – are jaw-dropping compared to others we’ve seen, there is a fun aspect of being able to slide down. Please be advised that a special type of wooden sleds are the only type that work really well. We saw other people trying to use snow sleds and it just doesn’t work.
To add to my exertion warming above, just climbing up a dune to slide down is a lot of work!
We rented sand sleds ($20 each for the day) at Great Sand Dunes Oasis which is the closest store/restaurant/cabins. This is also where we stayed for our two nights. Though the RV park was pretty boring – RVs in a row in a gravel lot (full hookups though!) – but it was adequate, and we liked the convenience to the store and restaurant. (There is camping in the park but it is more primitive with no hookups.)
The spectacular views and the amazement of being near all that sand with mountains in the background is something I won’t forget.
The area supposedly has a “mysterious history” (UFOs, Bigfoot) covered in this book which I bought for my husband: