Great Sand Dunes National Park | Camping on the Dunes

In late October or 2022, we visited Great Sand Dunes National Park in South Central Colorado, home of the tallest sand dunes in North America. It was while we were planning for this quick weekend trip, that we decided that instead of staying at the Holiday Inn Express in Alamosa, we would do some backcountry camping out on the dune field (permits are available through recreation.gov). So we took everything we would need to hike up and down the dunes, as well as camp overnight, and packed it into our backpacks. Then we were on our way!

Needless to say there were a lot of highs and lows (literally and figuratively) on this trip. It was a physical challenge for a couple of mid-forty year olds, but the reward of being in one of the most quiet places (once the day use people left) as well as a Certified International Dark Sky Park for star gazing was well worth the effort. Camping on the dunes in Great Sand Dunes National Park was an experience we will never forget.

00:00 Intro
00:28 Arriving at Great Sand Dunes National Park
02:11 Starting the Hike
03:05 Medano Creek
05:05 Reaching the Dunes
10:58 Almost the Halfway Point
15:38 Emptying Shoes of Sand
20:25 We Made it to the Backcountry
20:49 Setting up the Tent
23:47 Dinner on the Dunes
28:28 Dunes at Night
29:10 Sunrise
31:51 Breakfast
33:35 Leaving our Campsite
35:34 Hiking Down the Dunes
36:05 Worst part of the Trip
37:45 Sand Sledding
38:43 Sandy Shoe Competition
40:21 Leaving Great Sand Dunes National Park
40:40 Outtakes