A Look Beyond the Rockies: Sandboarding in Colorado

When most people think of Colorado, they envision picturesque mountaintops dusted with snow, little ski towns and people bundled in parkas hiking some of the most beautiful and challenging peaks in the Western Hemisphere. While this is all part of Colorado’s diverse landscape, there is a different Colorado people often forget. Just ask the barren, dusty Great Sand Dunes National Park.

Nestled in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado, these sprawling sand dunes are a marvel of nature. Looking upon this sandy masterpiece, you wonder to yourself, how can such a vast desert be juxtaposed to some of the snowiest mountain caps in the contiguous United States? No matter the case, the landscape begs for an adventurous heart.

Sandboarding and sand sledding are popular activities in the area, and rightfully so. It is a fitting image, and one could even sandboard the dunes, traverse the top of a nearby Sangre de Cristo Range mountain and snowboard. To access the dunes, however, be prepared to cross the wide and shallow Medano Creek, which is only accessible from late spring to early fall.

Sandboarding is a unique activity for adventure travelers, and Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Park may be one of the only places to try this without having to worry about scorching hot sand burning you, as temperatures stay fairly mild.