Great Sand Dunes National Park

The Great Sand Dunes rise over 750 feet high - that's taller than a 75-story building made entirely of sand! These incredible dunes were formed over 440,000 years ago when winds carried sand from the San Luis Valley and deposited it against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The sand is constantly moving and changing shape, creating new dunes and shifting old ones. In spring and early summer, Medano Creek flows at the base of the dunes, creating a natural beach where families can splash and play. The dunes are perfect for sandboarding and sand sledding - it's like skiing, but on sand! At night, the park becomes one of the darkest places in America, making it perfect for stargazing and seeing the Milky Way stretch across the sky.