If it's a cool day, take off your shoes in the parking lot, wade across Medano Creek and hike up the Great Sand Dunes. These ever shifting dunes are America's highest dunes and can get as high as 750 feet. Some of the ridges can be very steep so use caution when walking along them. Take water and wear sunglasses and a hat. There are no routes on the dunes so you can walk where you please. If you have a fear of heights, you can walk along the bottom of the dunes or take trails from the parking lot near the dunes or the visitor center. You'll need your shoes for these trails. Watch out for the cacti and the scat.
Depending on the season, the stream between the parking lot and the dunes can be a trickle or swiftly flowing.
Backed up against the Sangre De Christo Mountains, the Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve were first designated a national monument in 1932 and then changed to a national park in 2000.
If you are not camping in the park, hotels and restaurants in Alamosa are about 38 miles away. The park is in south-central Colorado. Take Colorado Highway 150 north from Route 160 and drive 17 miles.
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