GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK & PRESERVE Sink into the high-est mountains COLORADO of sand in North America. Nestled where the Sangre de Cristo Mountains buckle inward, the dunes have been rising and shift-ing for eons — the result of the San Luis Valley’s unique wind patterns. A sandbox of epic proportions near Alamosa, the entire dune field encompasses 30 square miles and the tallest dune towers 750 feet high. The kid in every visitor loves to sled down the sand year-round and plunge into the soft-sand tracks of those who climbed ahead of them. Choose your own challenging path up the dunes, particularly at dusk when the light gives them a rich gold color and shadows snake across their wind-sculpted ridges. Dig your toes into the sand or feel it run through your fingers, and you’ll realize their true enormity. Read more about the area on page 186. PHOTOGRAPHER: KENNAN HARVEY COLORADO.COM / 27
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2017: Page 27
