The Great Sand Dunes National Park

Favorite Vacation Moment

Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

by heididawnscott March 18, 2008

Jumping off the Dunes

As a side trip last year we took a three-day detour to San Luis Valley on our way to southern Colorado. We decided to check out the Great Sand Dunes National Park on a whim. It became the highlight of the entire year for our family. The Park has a new visitor's center that is fun and educational and offers nature hikes and an array of programs throughout the day led by rangers and other employees of the Park. The entry fee is almost ridiculously cheap and the campgrounds offer nice bathrooms with running water and electricity. But the best part of the visit was the Dunes themselves. You can spend days running and jumping and sliding and climbing on this super soft sand. There's a stream that runs for part of the season through the warm sand to add some fun for the little ones and deer that wander through the campground almost like pets. As long as you don't mind sand in your clothes and body, this is one of the very best vacations in the state of Colorado we have found, and we've lived here our entire lives. It's as close to the beach as you can get in this land-locked state!