20 Unique Things To Do In Great Sand Dune National Park

1. Attend A Full Moon Hike

Experience the Great Sand Dunes and take a ranger-led Full Moon Hike. Join a guided hike across the tallest dunes in North America through a surreal, moonlit landscape of silvery glow. Soft, cool sand underfoot and the expansive sky overhead set the scene for exploring the unique beauty of the dunes at night.

This full moon hike will bring you everything from knowledge regarding nocturnal wildlife in the park to the science behind dunes, complemented by a rich cultural history of the area. If you're a seasoned adventurer or a first-time visitor, this hike provides an unforgettable way to connect with the Great Sand Dunes.

2. Explore The Ancient Lakebed

The Ancient Lakebed that was once most of the area at the Great Sand Dunes, is now part of the unique ecosystem of the park. This large, flat area is called a sabkha that was once occupied by water thousands of years ago, which has since added to the piling up of sand to create the towering dunes we see today.

As you hike across this ancient lakebed, you'll see salt-encrusted soils and hardy plant life adapted to harsh, alkaline conditions. This lakebed gives a view into the geologic history of the park, in which wind, water, and time have combined to shape the landscape. This is also one of the best areas to view wildlife.

3. Spend Night By Star Gazing

The Great Sand Dunes showcases some of the most outstanding nocturnal skies for stargazing. Great Sand Dunes National Park's dry weather and clear skies, combined with its distant location from towns that would offer light, make it pretty ideal for observing the cosmos.

On a clear night, one can see the overwhelming view of the Milky Way running across the sky, seemingly so full of stars, planets, and meteor showers.

Tranquil yet amazing, one is, whether viewing it with a telescope or with the naked eye. The park sometimes offers ranger-led astronomy programs where you can better understand the nighttime sky and natural wonders that accompany the unique weather conditions of the Great Sand Dunes.

4. Hike To High Dune

One of the must-try adventures at Great Sand Dunes would have to be hiking to High Dune. This strenuous hike takes one up one of the tallest dunes in the park, with views on all sides from the top, showing scrappy Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the broad dune field below. The hike, strewn with shifting sands and steep is rewarded with vistas stretching as far as the eye can reach.

If the constantly changing weather of Great Sand Dunes National Park has anything to say about your hike, it may be illuminated by cool breezes or warmed by the sun. Seeing High Dune from its top gives one a feeling of being on top of the world and a deep appreciation for the natural beauty of the park.

5. Explore Medano Creek

Very rarely at The Great Sand Dunes, CO, Medano Creek offers an exhilarating experience during spring and early summer. This seasonal creek, formed at the base of the dunes by draining off melting snows from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, created an ideal playground where one can wade and splash or even float on these shallow waters.

Its surge flow, where waves pulse down the streambed, makes it a unique creek that is full of fun for families and adventurers alike. Medano Creek provides a cool contrast with the surrounding hot dunes, so it's perfect for relaxing and enjoying the unique environment. This ephemeral waterway is a highlight of any visit to the park.

6. Visit Zapata Falls

Just outside of The Great Sand Dunes, hike to Zapata Falls for a pretty, more secluded retreat. In winter, this spot is especially beautiful, as the falls are partially frozen, making it an icy wonderland of mesmerizing beauty. The trail into Zapata Falls is brief but moderately difficult, taking you through a rocky canyon to the base of the waterfall.

With every step closer, the sound of rushing water becomes greater and greater, and then finally opens up to a view of the cascading 30-foot waterfall. In warmer months, cool spray from the falls refreshes the visitor against the heat of nearby dunes. Whether summer or winter, Zapata Falls is an attraction not to be missed, a perfect complement to your adventure at The Great Sand Dunes.

7. Experience Sandboarding And Sand Sledding

Sandboarding and sand sledding at the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve are how you can put an exclamation point into experiencing this unique landscape. Take part in this specially designed boarding and sledding that lets you go careening down towering dunes for that exclamation point on your visit.

The huge expanse of dunes naturally offers a lot of space for trying different slopes and techniques, making it a great activity for tourists in families, groups, or visiting on their own. The experience of sliding down the dune peaks at max speed while having views of Great Sand Dunes National Park in every direction is something that one can never forget.

8. Experience Dune Climbing

Dune climbing is probably one of the must-do activities in the sand dunes in Colorado, but more so in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. The tallest dunes in North America are a wonder and provide an exhilarating challenge for dune climbers of all ages. The going can be tough: with soft, shifting sands and high slopes, every step of the climb is worth it.

On your way up, you will be viewing the sprawling views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the expanded dune field. At the top of the summit, this unrivaled sense of accomplishment is infallible, and the excitement is added while climbing back down the foot of the dunes or by climbing with a sand sled.

9. Bird Watching At Montville Nature Trail

A casual stroll down the Montville Nature Trail in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is a most peaceful and enlightening walk for nature enthusiasts. You will find great variety in the different species of birds, hence it should be an ideal destination for keen bird-watchers.

Its mix of pine, aspen, and cottonwood trees attracts mountain bluebirds, woodpeckers, and warblers, giving a perfect opportunity to get a view of these creatures up close in their habitat. The serenity of the Montville Nature Trail allows visitors to be at one with the view and the sounds of nature, permitting them to feel an interconnection with nature in the Great Sand Dunes.

10. Snowshoeing On The Dunes

Snowshoeing over the dunes at Great Sand Dunes National Park reveals new character, as this sandy landscape covered by snow turns so wonderfully into the picture of every winter wonderland. Throughout the park, the whitened tall dunes in North America give a surreal and peaceful setting, perfect for exploration on snowshoes.

And snowshoeing allows you to pace some areas that you can't move to during the summer when it's probably more difficult to access them. All of this is in the cool, fresh, rejuvenating mountain air.

If you're an accomplished pedometer or you're just starting, the walk through the snow-covered dunes will be unforgettable during exploratory excursions in the scenic beauty of this magnificent landscape.

11. Participate In Volunteer Project

Volunteering on a project at Great Sand Dunes National Park is a great way to find personal meaning and connection to this park and contribute to its protection. A way to do this is through a volunteer project that would include native habitat protection and maintenance of trails within the park's unique environment.

Volunteering also brings you to the core to learn the ecosystems, the wildlife, and the cultural history of the park, a hugely enriching experience that forever stays timeless. Volunteering on a project out here with the Great Sand Dunes is one way to give back in help to save its beauty for future generations, while also getting very unique and fulfilling connections with this amazing landscape.

12. Explore The Sangre De Cristo Mountains

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains make for a grand backdrop to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. The mountains have big peaks and ridgelines, so they are appropriately called "Sangre de Cristo," or literally "Blood of Christ," due to the striking red tone they take up from sunrise to sunset.

It's a mountain range with endless outdoor activities, from easy hikes across alpine meadows to more demanding climbs that offer huge and panoramic views. The area is made up of different landscapes: lush forests, cliffs, and peaceful lakes at high altitudes, providing ideal conditions for many wild animals, elk, black bears, and bighorn sheep.

13. Discover The History At The Visitor Center

Visitor Center in Great Sand Dunes National Park reveals a rich history here. It's here that the history of the native cultures, which revered the dunes for thousands of years as interwoven with their traditions, stories, and connections to the distinctive landscape, comes to life.

In this area as well, early explorers that came to the region and their notation on experience and how they were able to interact with the natural landscape are presented. Geological explanations in numerous exhibits detail the process of how it came that the towering sand formation of the dunes was shaped across millions of years.

The visitor center offers a great review of the park's past, from ancient history to the present.

14. Explore The Backcountry

Hike to the remote backcountry of Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve for a chance to be alone with pristine natural surroundings. Star Dune is only one of many unreally visited areas of this great park that one can engulf oneself in by backpacking into its serene wilderness. Star Dune offers breathtaking views of the landscape below and a different vantage from which to view the surrounding area.

The journey itself, the landscape, and the carrying supplies make this outpost an unrestrained, isolated experience with the natural beauty of the dunes and the mountains surrounding them. It's a backcountry trek through different ecosystems, rare wildlife, and a quiet landscape of virgin sand. 

15. Primitive Camping In The Dunes

Wanting to go wild will get you some hardcore options, like primitive camping in the dunes. Great Sand Dunes camping under the stars is an unbeatable adventure that aligns people with the silent beauty of the dunes.

You'll pitch your tent between the dunes that are nothing less than breathtaking vistas, under the sky that seems unending above you, and let the sounds of nature rock you to sleep.

You will able to look at the shining tapestry of stars and celestial bodies, untouched by the city lighting. Equally, it seems quite magic when getting up to the rising sun of the dunes with the changing light, which forms new patterns over the sand with every moment of the day.

16. Night Photography

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve offers some of the best night photography. The darkness of its skies provides a very beautiful backdrop against which to shoot the Milky Way and other celestial wonders.

There is hardly any light pollution, and the views are expansive and clear of obstruction, so photographers can chase and record bright stars, planets, and intricate details within the Milky Way core.

Settings like this, with dimly lit sky contrasting so with the outline of the high, towering dunes are dramatically intoxicatingly interesting. The peculiar landscape and black transparent sky create the conditions for both experienced photographers and amateur beginners to take amazing memorable shots of the night.

17. Attend A Ranger Program

The best way to get more in-depth the knowledge of geology, ecology, and history of the park is to go through the ranger program at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.

Ranger-guided activities are designed to give visitors an interesting insight into how those vast dunes were created and into the many different ecosystems existing inside the park, not forgetting to throw light upon its cultural-historical importance.

Rangers share their vast knowledge, and in so doing, make complex subjects approachable and interesting. From interests in the unique geology of the park to its wildlife, plant life, and stories of early explorers or indigenous cultures, the ranger programs enrich your visit.

18. Horseback Riding On The Dunes

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve offers an experience for horseback riders amid the park's incredible landscapes. However, there is no horseback riding on the Dunes themselves, just try to imagine the kind of mess that would make. But there are trails parallel to the visitor area that are scenic, ethereal, and perfect for horseback riding.

For instance, the nearby Baca Grande Ranch offers the chance to take guided rides on horseback through a beautiful landscape that showcases the diversity found in forested and open areas.

Riding through it gives you a completely different picture of what the park looks like in all its naturalness and a serene view of free horse travel in the quietness.

19. Sand-Tracking Wildlife

It can be very fascinating to sand-track wildlife while visiting Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. As you walk around, just take a closer look at the sand, you will find animal trails which evidently will tell a lot about the numerous creatures dwelling around. You might even be able to find some fox, rabbit, or coyote tracks, and it would be an incredible lesson to be able to identify them.

Each of these ways will help you understand why the tracks are so important and how the animals in the ecosystem play a role. This activity not only enriches your enjoyment of the park's wildlife but also strengthens your relationship to the natural beats of this singular landscape.

20. Stay A Night At Dunes Hotel

While there are no direct hotels in the park, there is a wide range of Great Sand Dunes National Park lodging options, all within quite a short drive from the park. You'll find options for comfortable stays near the park in the nearby town of Alamosa or the surrounding area with Great Sand Dunes National Park hotels.

These hotels provide easy access to the park, while their rooms are comfortable, the Wi-Fi is free, and a free breakfast is included. Some other nice touches in this group include several inns and motels in outlying communities like Mosca and Hooper for people wanting a more rustic experience.