Great Sand Dunes National Park

Photography in the park can be a year round event.  And while the idea of going to sand dunes in the winter seems a little backward, it's actually an amazing time to go.  For starters there are no people (well, much fewer).  Secondly you won't scar your feet on 140 degree sand (it can get that hot in the Summer sun), and lastly nothing looks as surreal and wonderful as glistening white snow on a giant mountainous sand dune.

With that said however, any time of year is still a great time to be at the Dunes.  They are easily driven to from Denver, only taking about four hours to reach.  Once there you can find accomodations at nearby towns or (more fun in my opinion) you can camp at the camping facilities on site.   This is by far the easiest way to get those great early morning or evening shots.  Just sack out until the good light arrives, then make your way to the dunes by foot.   NOTE that there are large mountains to the East of the Dunes which make morning photography somewhat less amazing than you might hope.  But that doesn't mean you shouldn't search for sweet shots anyway.

The Dunes are an amazing place to work on shooting shadows and finding form in high and low lights.  As the light gets lower in the sky the dunes show their shapes in rich dark shadows and bright glistening highlights.

About the Park

The Park contains the tallest sand dunes in North America, rising about 750 feet (230 m) from the floor of the San Luis Valley on the western base of the Sangre de Cristo Range, covering about 19,000 acres (77 km²). They are perhaps 12,000 years old.

There are several streams flowing on the perimeter of the dunes. The streams erode the edge of the dune field, and sand is carried downstream. The water disappears into the ground, depositing sand on the surface. Winds pick up the deposits of sand, and blow them up onto the dune field once again.

Digging a few inches into the dunes even at their peaks reveals wet sand. If the streams were to dry up, the dunes would disappear; in fact part of the motivation of turning the Monument into a National Park was the extra protection of the water, which Colorado's cities and agriculture covet.

It is very easy to experience the dune-building process. This is a very windy region, as hikers on the Sand Dunes will attest, as on many days they will be pelted by sand and even small rocks when hiking on the dunes. The wind carries sand and rocks from many miles away.

The park also contains alpine lakes and tundra, six peaks over 13,000 feet (3,940 m) in elevation, ancient spruce and pine forests, large stands of aspen and cottonwood, grasslands, and wetlands — all habitat for diverse wildlife and plant species.

One of the most unusual features of the park happens at Medano Creek, which borders the east side of the dunes and is located next to the Visitor Center and Bookstore. Because fresh sand continually falls in the creek, Medano Creek never finds a permanent and stable streambed. Small underwater sand dunes that act like dams continually form, and break down. So waders in the stream see surges—which look like waves—of water flowing downstream at intervals of just a few seconds to a minute or more. In a high-water year, these surges can be as much as a foot in height, resembling ocean waves. Building sand castles with the creek sand is a popular visitor activity.

Access

Getting to the dunes requires walking across the wide and shallow Medano Creek, which flows only from spring to early summer. Hiking is permitted, with the warning that the sand can get hot in the summer, up to 140° Fahrenheit (60° Celsius). The area gets snow in the winter.