Hiking the Sand Sheet Loop Trail in Great Sand Dunes National Park
Distance: 0.4 miles / 0.6 km
The Sand Sheet Loop Trail is one of the best quick and easy day hikes for first-time visitors to Great Sand Dunes National Park.
I believe this because visiting the park for the first time often comes with a lot of questions, such as: Why did the sand dunes form here, or where did the sand come from?
Questions like these and many more are exactly why I recommend hiking the short 0.4-mile (0.6 km) Sand Sheet Interpretive Trail, as the signs along the trail guide you through a basic understanding of the entire landscape, explaining how both the landscape and ecosystem come together from the high alpine summits of the nearby Blanca Peak to the sand dunes themselves at the bottom of the San Luis Valley.
Sand Sheet Loop Trailhead Parking
Parking for the Sand Sheet Loop Trail is located at the Great Sand Dunes Visitor Center, making it a great stop to both learn about the park from the staff inside, while hiking this short trail before venturing out into the dune field.
Google Maps Directions: Great Sand Dunes Visitor Center
Hiking Checklist - Great Sand Dunes
Here is a complete list of must-have things that you will want for any hike in Great Sand Dunes National Park.
Hiking the Sand Sheet Loop Trail
The Sand Sheet Loop Trail can either begin here, on the left side of the visitor center, or by walking through the visitor center to the far side, where this article ends.
Sand Sheet Loop Trail
After less than 0.1 miles (0.2 km), the trail splits into the short 0.3-mile (0.5 km) Sand Sheet Nature Loop, which both begins and ends here at the visitor center.
Personally, I chose to go left at this split, but I don’t think it makes much of a difference in terms of enjoying the trail, whichever way you decide to go.
This short walk through the Pinyon Pines is the only place to find a little shade on the Sand Sheet Loop Trail, which is why I recommend traveling to Great Sand Dunes with a hooded sun shirt, as it can be useful for this and countless other adventures in the park.
This is the far end of the Sand Sheet Loop, where the trail makes a sharp turn back toward the visitor center.
Sand Sheet Loop-Dunes Access Junction
Just before the Sand Sheet Loop returns to the visitor center, the trail splits with a short access trail that leads down to the Medano Creek Trailhead, where the High Dune Trail begins.
However, hiking from the visitor center to the sand dunes is by far the less popular option compared to simply driving to the dunes access down the road, as it is a much closer hike to go sledding, among a number of other adventures!
In any case, go right here to return to the visitor center.
This split to the right is nothing more than a gradual path to the Sand Sheet Loop, compared to the stairs in the photo above.
That being said, go left to return to the beginning, with the parking area just on the other side of the visitor center.
Sand Sheet Loop Junction
Finally, the Sand Sheet Loop Trail returns to the beginning, with the main entrance and parking area just to the left of this initial loop split.
