Adventure at the Great Sand Dunes National Park

After 16 years of living in Colorado we have never been to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. I have always wanted to go. For all those who don’t know what the Great Sand Dunes are, they are the tallest sand dunes in North America located in San Luis Valley, Colorado.

The huge sand dunes are surrounded by massive snow peak mountains. It almost looks a little fake, like a painting, it’s so amazing!

We arrived after 7pm but I was still determined to go hike the dunes in hopes of an awesome sunset hike. Like always Maddy is my hiking buddy! You have to cross a river to get to the dunes and thankfully it was only 17cfs. Hiking up the sand wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be either, but it was still a great workout. There are multiple spots that are very steep and just drop off like cliffs.

The top is AMAZING! The sun was setting and the view was amazing! I had been longing for an adventure like this. To just go exploring and to feel like I’m on top of the world. I felt so alive!

Huge thanks to Kristi Mountain Sports for providing us with sand boards! It’s so much fun. Kenny and Dally were really good on the boards, throwing grabs and hitting big jumps.

There’s also a hidden waterfall nearby called Zapata Falls. It’s only a ¼ mile but prepare to get your feet wet. In order to get to the falls you have to walk through the creek. The water was freezing and at this time of year there was still ice on the waterfall.

-Kady