Officially "Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve", GSDNPP (for short) protects the largest dune field in the country, at an area of 30 square miles. At the base of the Sangre de Cristo mountains lies this otherworldly expanse of sand and wind. It's a relatively small national park, but fascinating to explore.
High Dune and Star Dune
I arrived in GSDNPP in the late afternoon and, not wanting to do anything incredibly strenuous my first day at high elevation (the low areas of the park are about 8000 feet up), I decided to trek to the top of High Dune. This is the tallest dune you can see from the parking area, and the hike is farther and more difficult than it initially looks! The lack of scale and the sweeping curves of the dunes tend to play tricks with your depth perception. The round trip is a little over two miles, and you'll have to ascend 700 feet to reach the top of the dune. Ascending 700 feet in sand is much more difficult than doing so on normal ground! High Dune is simply the highest point you can see from the dunes parking area. There's not any one particular trail, just head towards it, trying to follow the ridgelines for the easiest trek. You'll have to start by crossing Medano Creek. I was there in mid-May and the creek, full of snowmelt, was running over half a foot deep in places. I recommend crossing barefoot and quickly because the water is COLD.
From here, I spotted tiny, tiny figures all over the face of the dunes and realized that the dunes are both farther away and much higher than I thought. I almost gaped in awe. They're skyscrapers. I headed towards what looked to be the least steep route. Sand slides you backward as you walk uphill, so avoid steep climbs when possible. Working from ridge to ridge, I made my way all the way to the top of High Dune for an unbelievable view in the late afternoon sun:
Below, there are people in the photo for scale, barely visible in the middle of the shot:
Those folks are on top of High Dune and I am looking back with the sun casting long shadows. This is a rare hike where I take off my shoes:
By the way, I usually prefer thick, heavy hiking boots since they're so comfortable and stable on rocky terrain. To hike in the dunes, however, you want light sneakers. One more note of caution about hiking in the dune field: the wind on this first day was roaring across the high parts of the dune field. Sand was blasting into my skin, which is painful, and sometimes even blowing as high as my head. Be careful because I doubt breathing too much of that is good for you. You might try breathing through your shirt.
I returned to the dune field the following morning to hike all the way to Star Dune, the highest dune in North America at 750 feet. The roundtrip hike is about 7.6 miles (depending on the route you take), and all on sand so it seems longer! I started by simply marching back up to High Dune. From there, look west, and Star Dune is easy to see, the highest dune in the dune field. (Oddly enough, due to the sloping ground, the taller Star Dune is actually at a slightly lower elevation the High Dune.) One of the many things to love about this hike is that there is no trail. I surveyed the route between High Dune and Star Dune and headed along the most promising looking ridge lines (to avoid dropping way down into a hole and having to trudge back up). Once leaving High Dune, I didn't encounter a single other person. Every few hundred yards, I would cross a rise that would give me a better view, and I would adjust my path accordingly. This was an absolutely mesmerizing experience, a long lonely trek with nothing but sand visible in every direction! I began to recall the novel Dune and wondered if I should walk without rhythm. Along the way I saw this hypnotic patch of swirly sand:
That's just a patch of a few square feet. Here is Star Dune as I get a little closer:
From above, Star Dune looks like a starfish (hence the name), and you can clearly see one of the starfish legs in the above photo. I walked right up that leg, stopping to rest as it got steep higher up. Here I am at the top of Star Dune!
The wind was calm for most of this hike, but really howling here, which is why my hat is tied tightly onto my head. You can retrace your steps, but I thought it would be more interesting to head south directly to Medano Creek and then walk back by the creek. I worked my way down and across the dunes, leaving tracks behind:
And eventually reached the flat sand by the creek. At this point, I was feeling the effects of exertion at altitude and was having to rest more often than usual, but it was no trouble to walk back.
Mosca Pass Trail
After a day and half exploring the dune field, I tried one of GSDNPP's non-sand-related hikes. Mosca Pass Trail heads east away from the dunes following an old trade route through the mountains. It's a straight shot to the pass, all uphill but a pleasant, gradual slope. The scenery changes gradually along the way. First, I walked alongside a wooded creek, then the path rose out of the woods and along the mountainside:
Soon, the trail leads through a lovely alpine meadow:
I'm not sure if it's the plant life or the thin air or what, but the way scenery looks at higher elevations is hypnotic to me. Everything looks cleaner and clearer, somehow, and quite idyllic. Maybe my mind is just playing tricks on me. Here is the end of the trail, the pass itself, at about 9700 feet up:
From the trailhead to the pass is 3.5 miles, making the roundtrip hike seven miles. On the way back, you get a brief view of the dune field from above:
Mosca Pass is a neat hike, and not very difficult. Though it's not as unique as exploring the dunes, it's worth a look!