A Day at the Dunes, Exploring Great Sand Dunes National Park

Sandboarding beneath the shadow of the tallest sand dunes in the US? Camping under the Milky Way in a prehistoric lake bed? Witnessing sunrise and sunset over two of Colorado's most stunning mountain ranges (Sangre de Cristo & San Juans)? Check yes to visit Colorado's adult playground. We picked a mid-September weekend and drove 2.5 hours to another planet, Great Sand Dunes National Park.

CAMP | There’s one campground inside the park, Pinon Flats, which fills up quickly during peak season. We opted to stay outside the park at Ramble, a modern camp oasis with tons of amenities, spacious campsites, and distant views of the dunes. Our site was on the eastern outskirts of the grounds, giving us uninterrupted views of Blanca Peak towering over the dunes. Ramble also has sustainable showers and bathrooms, free fat tire bikes rentals and a 3.5 mile bike path, and disc golf course. Our site had a grill, shade structure, tent pad, horseshoes, and a Solo Stove fire pit. This pet-friendly campground was an absolute blast to stay in. We felt comfortable and spoiled with all the modern amenities, and met some really cool likeminded travelers. Ramble will continue to be our home base when we stay in the San Luis Valley.

PLAY | We gave ourselves one full day to explore Great Sand Dunes National Park and a bit of Alamosa with Archie. Our main priority was sand boarding before the dunes got too hot for Archie’s paws. The main bit of advice we received was not to stay out too long with puppy paws on the sand. We saw plenty of responsible pup parents who equipped their dogs with booties, but Archie does not approve of the boot, so we had to sacrifice a bit of time. Sandboard rental was easy and quick at the Oasis General Store just a few minutes from the park entrance. There’s basically one main parking area inside Great Sand Dunes. This serves as the trailhead for most of the hikes on the dunes and we’re glad we got there early. It gets HOT, quickly. We’re both pretty fit humans, but walking on sand at 8,000 feet is not easy and turned into quite a workout. Sandboarding itself, on two feet or on tush, is exhausting, hilarious, and the board takes on a mind of its own. After an hour of tumbling in the sand, we stopped in at the massive visitor center, another park must-see.

EAT | The historic town of Alamosa sits 15 minutes from Ramble campground and about 25 from the National Park. We stopped into town in search of a tech recharge and post-play refreshments. San Luis Valley Brewing Company was the perfect solution. This family-owned spot sits in a prime people-watching corner on Alamosa's Main Street. We sat out front, but the inside and bar area are super cozy, and behind the bar sits a 5,000lb vault door from 1912. I could have hung out there all evening. Alas, the dunes were calling us back. A veggie sandwich, killer fries, and a few pilsners later, our bellies and devices were fueled up and we were on our way.