Great Sand Dunes National Park is Great!

          Are you familiar with Great Sand Dunes National Park? I had heard of it but didn’t know a lot about it until planning my cross-country drive.  I moved across the country and wanted to make some stops.  I decided to stop at Great Sand Dunes because it was only a small detour and I had never been.  They are located in the Southern part of Colorado.  I am trying to visit all of the U.S. National Parks and it’s alway so satisfying to check off a new one. If you are like me and trying to visit all of the parks check out my check list that I created to help me track them.  You can print it on higher quality paper and frame it or just keep it casual.  Anyway… I was extremely impressed with this park.  

          I was only at this park for a few hours because I didn’t have a ton of time and it was extremely windy.  It was also pretty chilly, just overall not great weather.  I was still able to see the main attraction (the dunes), though.  They are super tall.  They’re over 600 feet high.  These dunes are defiantly the tallest I have ever seen.  I wasn’t expecting that height, for some reason.  The color of the sand is also unique.  It’s kind of an unusual brown.  I wasn’t able to hike up them very far because we were getting sand blasted from the wind.  I really want to return when the weather is better and climb them.  You are allowed to walk wherever you want, so you can go to the top.  Another fun thing about this park is that they allow sand boarding and sledding on the dunes.  Dogs are allowed as well, which is pretty uncommon for National Parks.  If you are visiting Colorado, I suggest you stop by.