To be honest, at first I was not thrilled about making the side journey to see this national park…but we’d bought the “National Parks Passport” book and so I thought why not get another stamp in our passport. It would also be good to get the kids out of the car for a bit.
But Holy Cow! This place is impressive! Massive dunes tower above the flat valley floor with a backdrop of Rocky Mountain peaks (Sangre de Cristo Range)…a strange sight. Photography-wise, I loved the shapes and silhouettes of the stark landscape and I took many photos (and for the most part kept the sand grains out of my equipment).
The geology of how these dunes came to be is quite complicated and a bit unknown, so I’m not going to try and explain it (not that I understand it anyway) so you’ll have to Google it for yourself. What is fascinating, is that the shape and size of the major dune field has not changed much at all in 140 years! (See historic & modern photo below). North America’s largest dunes cover about 38 square miles and reach heights of 750 feet from the valley floor.
The kids could have cared less about the geology, and they just wanted to play in the giant sand box, along with about 100 other visitors (200?). They had a blast, as you can see from the photos below.

Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado

Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado

Amazingly, the shape and size of the major dunes has not changed significantly in the last 140 years! (from the National Park Service website).

Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado

Birk Stensaas at Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado

Bjorn Stensaas at Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado

Bjorn Stensaas at Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado

Bjorn and Birk Stensaas at Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado

Bjorn and Birk Stensaas at Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado

Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado

Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado