5 Best Things to Do in Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve
With its expansive dune field, towering peaks, and pristine alpine lakes, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is one of the most uniquely diverse National Parks in the country, and it’s one of those places that brings out the child in everyone, should you come prepared to go sledding down the beautiful sand dunes!
That being said, there are a number of named trails across Great Sand Dunes, but in my opinion, the park is largely about making your own adventure in the dune field, which is one of the biggest reasons why the list below is so short.
Hiking Checklist - Great Sand Dunes
Obviously, for camping, you will need general backpacking gear. For this reason, I wrote a separate post about what backpacking gear is worth the money, from my experience, and what the best alternatives are to save you money.
Read My Separate Post: Best Ultralight Backpacking Gear
In addition, here is a complete list of must-have things that you will want for any hike in Great Sand Dunes National Park.
5 Best Things to Do in Great Sand Dunes National Park
The following list is written in no particular order of best or worst.
However, I highly recommend reading through the safety section at the end of this article, as some adventures are best only during certain times of the year due to the park’s notorious extreme weather swings.
1. Star Dune Trail (Tallest Sand Dune)
Distance: 7.3 miles / 11.7 km
In an ever-changing landscape, the Star Dune is now tied with the Hidden Dune for not only being the tallest sand dune in the park but all of North America.
That being said, the Star Dune Trail could easily be treated as an out-and-back adventure. However, what I recommend is to hike the Star-High Dune Loop Trail, using the out-and-back route linked below for the return trip only.
By doing this, you essentially maximize all the effort put in to make it into the dune field by not treating this and the High Dune mentioned below as two separate adventures.
AllTrails: Star Dune
2. High Dune Trail
Distance: 3.0 miles / 4.8 km
The High Dune is the go-to hike that most visitors frequent in Great Sand Dunes National Park, as it’s the tallest, meaning the most prominent sand dune that you can see when driving into the park or looking from the visitor center.
That being said, the High Dune Trail is a fairly self-explanatory hike, but it is steep and very cardio-intensive!
To get there, most hikers typically head straight across Medano Creek toward the dune, but I recommend hiking up at an angle in order to maximize your effort in the sand.
Furthermore, I highly recommend continuing on to the Star Dune in order to make the most of your effort for coming this far, as hiking past the High Dune to the Star Dune is not nearly as difficult as simply reaching the High Dune in the first place.
AllTrails: High Dune
3. Mount Herald Trail
Distance: 8.8 miles / 14.2 km
Standing at an elevation of 13,345 ft. (4,068 m), Mount Herald is the tallest peak in Great Sand Dunes National Park.
That being said, in order to hike Mt. Herald from the main entrance of the National Park, a 4WD vehicle is needed to access the trailhead, with about 10.5 miles (16.9 km) of the drive being unpaved after the Piñon Flats Campground.
AllTrails: Mount Herald
My Print - Mt. Herald (Left)
4. Dunes Backcountry (Overnight Camping)
Distance: +1.5 miles / 2.4 km
The 30-square-mile dune field that makes up much of Great Sand Dunes National Park is the most popular area of the park for backcountry camping, which the National Park Service defines as anywhere west of the High Ridge, approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) or greater into the dune field.
That being said, 1.5+ miles (2.4 km) may not sound like much hiking, but it is incredibly more difficult with a heavy pack than hiking on solid ground. This is why I only recommend backpacking in the dune field for the fittest hikers only!
Nevertheless, backcountry permits are required, and they are no longer available for free at the Great Sand Dunes Visitor Center. Rather, they must be reserved online prior to visiting, especially since there is limited cell coverage in the park.
Book Here: Great Sand Dunes Backcountry Permits
5. Great Sand Dunes NP Photography
The biggest advice I can give to photographers is to choose your lens prior to hiking into the dune field, which is obvious because the blowing sand is likely to damage your equipment.
Personally, I’ve taken many of my shots in the sand dunes on a 24-70mm f /2.8 lens, which was perfect for mid-range photos of my friend standing out on a far ridge.
This way, I was able to compress the layers of the sand dunes, as in the many photos found across this article. However, I could also see how something wider or longer would work well, depending on what you’re going for.
My Print - Great Sand Dunes National Park
