Nestled in southern Colorado, North America’s tallest dunes rise over 750 feet high against the rugged Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The wind-shaped dunes glow beneath the rugged backdrop of the mountains. This geologic wonderland, containing over 30 square miles of massive dunes, became a national monument in 1932. With the passage of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Act, resources now also include alpine lakes and tundra, six peaks over 13,000′ in elevation, ancient spruce and pine forests, large stands of aspen and cottonwood, grasslands and wetlands–all habitat for diverse wildlife and plant species.
History & Culture
Great Sand Dunes National Monument was established in 1932 by Herbert Hoover, in response to a local citizens’ effort spearheaded by the Ladies’ PEO chapters in the San Luis Valley. In the 1920’s, gold was found in the Great Sand Dunes and active gold mining in the sand and sand extraction for cement production began to occur. San Luis Valley residents became concerned about long-term protection of the Great Sand Dunes. An intense but remarkably short and successful campaign to gain support and protection for the dunes ensued, culminating in President Hoover’s Proclamation: “Whereas it appears that the public interest would be promoted by including the lands hereinafter described within a national monument for the preservation of the Great Sand Dunes and additional features of scenic, scientific and educational interest. now therefore I, Herbert Hooverdo proclaim and establish the Great Sand Dunes National Monument” Hoover’s proclamation focuses on the preservation of the dunes, giving us clear guidance on one of primary interpretive stories: the dunes themselves, our primary resource. We are equally clearly directed to also protect and interpret the ‘additional features’ which make this landscape so diverse and captivating.
On November 22, 2000, President Clinton signed the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Act of 2000, which authorized the expansion of the national monument into a national park almost four times its original size. Like the proclamation of 1932, it was powered largely by Valley residents who banded together to protect the resources important to them; in this more modern era, groundwater. Perhaps most importantly, the legislation authorized the eventual purchase of privately held property from willing sellers for inclusion in Great Sand Dunes National Park.
Lands identified as vital to the protection of park resources included the area known as the Baca Ranch, recently purchased on behalf of the federal government by The Nature Conservancy. The Baca includes the northwestern corner of the dunefield, wetlands, nesting and migratory bird habitat and numerous archaeological sites. This purchase, finalized on September 10, 2004, enabled the Secretary of the Interior to affirm that “sufficient diversity of resources has been acquired to warrant designation of the land as a national park” on September 13, 2004. Great Sand Dunes National Monument was redesignated as a national park!
As part of the Act of 2000, roughly 42,000 acres of national forest wilderness area were immediately transferred to NPS management and were renamed the Great Sand Dunes National Preserve. Natural resources in this area are quite different from those in the older national monument or the expanded national park and include alpine tundra and lakes, extensive virgin subalpine forest, aspen forests and high elevation wetlands. Further land transfers from the BLM to NPS management were authorized on the west and south sides of the old monument.
From the new legislation we gain interpretive emphasis on the geologic story of the dunes and its associated watersheds, the culturally diverse resources of the area and a national desire to “ensure the perpetuation of the entire ecosystem for the enjoyment of future generations.”
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is also administered under the provision of the Organic Act of 1916, which specifies that units of the National Park system are: “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life thereinand to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”
Recreation
Visitors can go hiking on the dunes and several nature trails, observe flora and fauna, picnic and backcountry camp. Medano Creek, which flows at the base of the dunes during spring and early summer, allows for sand castle building and pleasant, refreshing hikes. Allow about two hours to hike the dunes. There are several options for all day or over night hikes within the national monument and the national preserve. Be aware that most trailheads into the national preserve are accessed from Highway 69, on the east side of the Sangre de Cristos. Wherever your hiking boots lead you, remember to leave no trace of your presence!
Getting There
Great Sand Dunes National Monument is located 35 miles northeast of Alamosa, Colorado, reached by US Highway 160 and Colorado Highway 150 from the south; or from Colorado Highway 17 and County Six Mile Lane from the west.
Traveler Facts
Contact Information
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
11999 Highway 150
Mosca, CO 81146
Phone: 719-378-6300
Fax: 719-378-6310
Operating Hours & Seasons
Great Sand Dunes National Monument and Preserve is open all year.
In winter, the Visitor Center hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, when the building is closed.
In spring and fall, the Visitor Center is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday; call ahead for specific hours on the days you plan to visit.
In summer the Visitor Center hours are 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily, Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Weather/Climate
In fall, winter and spring, expect moderate daytime temperatures and freezing to sub-zero temperatures at night. Summer temperatures during the day average 70 to 80 degrees, lows may drop to 40 degrees. Sand temperatures can reach 140 degrees in summer; shoes are highly recommended for hiking the dunes
