Colorado is such a beautiful state! I’m so glad I took this route on my way up to Washington State! I weirdly had never been to Colorado, one of the only states I hadn’t been to yet (aside from the airport)! 🤯 seems like the first place I’d go lol.
I also stopped at the beautiful Smith Reservoir about 30 minutes south of the park on my way up from New Mexico. It’s a little body of body of water with a beautiful view of the mountains! There are also some other awesome sand dunes in New Mexico!
The Great Sand Dunes National Park sits at the base of the Rocky Mountains in South Central Colorado! It was surreal to see sand dunes in the mountains!
I used my National Park Service Pass to get in. I’m sure it’s around $20-25 per car to get in without one! My pass was $75 for an entire year of unlimited National Park access! Although I bought it in March this year right before the virus shut down lol.
You can see the dunes miles before you get into the park. It’s a very unique site seeing them surrounded by mountains! I blasted some uplifting music and was so happy driving in!
I was in a hurry to get to WA for my grandpas birthday, so Charles Lickens (my cat) and I only stopped for a couple hours! I’ll definitely be going back and doing some hiking in the surprising areas so that I can see the dunes from high up.
We turned into the first road/parking lot after the visitors center. It leads you to the base of the dunes.
I packed Charles in my backpack and we headed for the dunes! I went barefoot, the sand is super fine and soft. It’s a major workout walking through the sand and up the dunes! Way harder than I anticipated. Bring lots of water! I always bring my Hydroflask, it keeps my ice frozen all day!
I found a spot on top of a dune and relaxed in the sun and soaked in the views. So much beauty in one spot, God did some major work with this place!
Charles loves digging in sand and dirt, he played while I relaxed (this video was from the start of the dunes, there’s no plants once you are a little further out)!
The weather was perfect but about an hour in, the wind started picking up! I had to tuck Charles all the way into my backpack so he didn’t get sand in his eyes. I even tried letting him out and he crawled right back in!
I went back to the car shortly after, I didn’t want him in there too long lol. He’s my baby, gotta make sure he’s comfortable.
It’s such an incredible place! I will definitely be going back! I want to go and spend a week in the area camping and exploring. I could spend an entire year exploring nature in Colorado. Feeling blessed!
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