Monday, November 9, 2009

Great Sand Dunes National Park

The Great Sand Dunes National Park is a giant sandy beach without water near the beautiful Sangre de Cristo mountains, 35 miles north east of Alamosa, Colorado.

The tallest sand dunes in all of North America are found here in Colorado. The tallest one rises 750 feet in the air! So what does that mean to you? It means FUN! How would you like to try and climb it?

When you first arrive, stop by the visitor center and watch a 15 minute video to learn about the sand dunes and the activities they offer.

There are a lot of hiking trails so you can get out and explore. Build sand castles and dig in the sand. Pretend you are in the snow and sled down the sandy hills. This is so much fun. The kids will love it, especially if they are not used to snow. No matter how hot it gets, this "snow" will not melt so you can go sledding all day long. Bring a saucer or a plastic sled and down you go.

Sometimes, there is some water to go along with the sandy beach on the west side of the dunes. This is water that has melted from the Sangre de Cristo mountains and has flown down to Medano Creek. It forms little ponds at the bottom of the dunes that you can wade in, but is not there all of the time.

Make sure you bring pails and shovels for the little ones so they can dig and build sand castles. If it is a breezy day, bring a kite and fly it. Bring frisbees and bouncing balls and have a blast playing at the beach all day long.

Make sure you have plenty of sunscreen and apply it often throughout the day. Bring hats and sunglasses to protect your face and eyes from sunburn and glare.

Make sure you bring plenty of picnic food and lots of drinks, especially water so you do stay comfortable and do not get dehydrated.

From northern Colorado, get on I-25 and come down. At Walsenburg, go west on US 160 and then north on state highway 150. If you are coming from the west, use Colorado 17 and then County Lane 6. From the south, take US 160 and then Colorado 150. Look it up on MapQuest or use a GPS.

Alamosa is 32 miles away from Great Sand Dunes National Park and you can stay at a motel there or just make it a day trip from Colorado Springs.

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