Hiking Area: Great Sand Dunes National Monument, CO

A couple of years ago, Betty and I spent a bit of time in the southwest hiking. One of the highlights was a visit to the Great Sand Dunes in southern Colorado. An arid basin between two ranges of mountains is the setting for this jewel. The prevailing wind from the west picks up sand from the basin, hits the Sangre de Cristo mountains along the basins's western border, and drops all the sand there. A stream along the base of the mountains picks up the sand and recycles it into the basin, where it is once more picked up by the wind. The dunes, a mini-desert reminiscent of the Sahara, makes an interesting day of hiking. Click here for a 120K JPEG map of the area. BTW there's no real trails, nor any hiking map for the dunes, because the area changes all the time. You just hike out into the dunes, wander around all day, and then head back east to the stream, following it to your starting point. The best starting point for a hike requires 4-wheel drive for access. And yes, a compass could come in very handy if you can't navigate by the sun or stars.

For the pictures below, click on a thumbnail for a larger JPG picture (25-40K each).

Looking east from the basin toward the Sangre de Cristo Mountains with the Great Sand Dunes just visible at the base of the mountains:

 

One needs to dress properly for any desert hikes:

 

Looking out across the dunes:

 

Betty ascending a dune (not as easy as it looks, you slide back a step for every two forward):

 

Made it! With more dunes out to the right.

 

Looking to the left, across the stream to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains:

 

The narrow valley just to the east of the dunes:

 

One of the delights of hiking here is getting to take your boots off and walk in the stream back to your starting point -- the stream's braided bed is pure sand:

 

And now say goodbye to the dunes:

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