Info/Tip
Weather – In summer the sand gets very hot. Wear socks.
Modena Creek – Check NPS website for Modena Creek current condition. When we visited beginning of July 2021 it was mostly dried up.
Sandboarding/Sledding – Rent sandboard/sled before entering the park if that is something you want to do. The closest rental store to the park is Oasis store which is 4 miles from park entrance, all others are in near by town. Check NPS site for info.
Mosquitos – there are lots and lots of mosquitos when we visited in July, especially in evenings, bring bug repellent.
Things to do
Sand sledding
Sledding down the sand dune was super fun, however climbing back up no so much. Kids got tired after just 2 or 3 runs down the hill. We rented 1 sled for the 4 of us and took turns. If you plan to hike to one of the higher dunes, another option for each person to have their own sled/board and to hike up to the top and make your way down in one go. We went early in the morning by 11-12am, the sand was starting to get very hot.
Zapata Falls
Zapata Falls is not part of Great Sand Dunes National Park but is very close by. This is a great option for summer afternoons after the hot sand to cool off in the stream. The hike to Zapata falls requires walking in the stream, wear water shoes. Even in summer the water was icy cold.
Sunset/Stargazing
We had planned to go for sunset view and stay for stargazing at night. It did not work out as planned. 1- it was cloudy and looks like it will rain when we got there and 2-MOSQUITOS, so many mosquitos! bug repellent didn’t work at all. We did get a glimpse of the red sand glow from sunset on our way in.
Medano Pass Primitive Road
4WD required, check road condition at visitor center or NPS website. We did not plan to go but drove to “Point of no Return” to check it out.
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