Write by Kyle
We’ve been to Great Sand Dunes National Park a few times, but never during the spring and the seasonal river. Featuring a diverse landscape of grasslands, wetlands, forests, alpine lakes, and tundra there is a lot to see, but a couple months a year Medano Creek runs at the base of North America’s highest sand dunes due to the snow melt from the surrounding mountains. We heard water had arrived and decided to jump on the motorcycles and go take a look!
It was a windy cool day, but we were thrilled to be able to jump on the motorcycles this early in May. It’s about a 2 Hour ride from Creede, Colorado through the San Luis valley to Mosca, Colorado, and we made a couple stops on the way.
Pulling into the dunes is always a sight, from the park entrance sign you can get an idea of the enormity of these 700 plus foot tall sand dunes, which seem completely out of place in the high altitude San Luis Valley. The Sangre de Cristo mountains were still capped in snow, and you could just make out the water sparkling at the base of the dunes. We made our way to the parking lot and shed our gear, and as we were walking to the entrance to the dunes, you could see the water flowing!
It’s not very deep yet, but wide. Small waves in the water from the surge flow and wind changed the path of the water constantly.
Even though it was not deep enough to tube or play in yet there were still plenty of people there to see the creek, as well as people hiking up the dunes carrying sand boards and sleds. We haven’t tried sand boarding yet, but it looks like a fun way to make your way down after scaling the dunes!
This is truly an amazing and special place any time of the year, and like most national parks there are campgrounds and picnic areas available as well as a visitor center with history on the formation of this natural feature. It’s worth visiting here anytime of the year, but if you’re local or in the area during the months of April, May, or June, definitely try and visit, it is an otherworldly experience!
Ramble Around 