http://www.trivago.com/mosca-61045/nature-spot/great-sand-dunes-national-park-and-preserve-151545 http://www.trivago.com/mosca-61045/nature-spot/great-sand-dunes-national-park-and-preserve-151545 http://ie2.trivago.com/images/layoutimages/logos/default.png http://www.trivago.com/mosca-61045/nature-spot/great-sand-dunes-national-park-and-preserve-151545/picture-i10024630 Wed, 21 Nov 2012 14:04:00 +0100 ]]> http://www.trivago.com/mosca-61045/nature-spot/great-sand-dunes-national-park-and-preserve-151545/picture-i10024624 Wed, 21 Nov 2012 14:04:00 +0100 ]]> http://www.trivago.com/mosca-61045/nature-spot/great-sand-dunes-national-park-and-preserve-151545/picture-i9751951 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 04:51:00 +0200 ]]> http://www.trivago.com/mosca-61045/nature-spot/great-sand-dunes-national-park-and-preserve-151545/picture-i9751949 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 04:51:00 +0200 ]]> http://www.trivago.com/mosca-61045/nature-spot/great-sand-dunes-national-park-and-preserve-151545/picture-i9751947 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 04:51:00 +0200 ]]> http://www.trivago.com/mosca-61045/nature-spot/great-sand-dunes-national-park-and-preserve-151545/picture-i9751945 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 04:51:00 +0200 ]]> http://www.trivago.com/mosca-61045/nature-spot/great-sand-dunes-national-park-and-preserve-151545/picture-i9751943 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 04:51:00 +0200 ]]> http://www.trivago.com/mosca-61045/nature-spot/great-sand-dunes-national-park-and-preserve-151545/picture-i9751941 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 04:51:00 +0200 ]]> http://www.trivago.com/mosca-61045/nature-spot/great-sand-dunes-national-park-and-preserve-151545/picture-i9751939 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 04:51:00 +0200 ]]> http://www.trivago.com/mosca-61045/nature-spot/great-sand-dunes-national-park-and-preserve-151545/picture-i9751937 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 04:51:00 +0200 ]]> http://www.trivago.com/mosca-61045/nature-spot/great-sand-dunes-national-park-and-preserve-151545/picture-i9751935 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 04:51:00 +0200 ]]> http://www.trivago.com/mosca-61045/nature-spot/great-sand-dunes-national-park-and-preserve-151545/picture-i9751933 Tue, 25 Sep 2012 04:51:00 +0200 ]]> http://www.trivago.com/mosca-61045/nature-spot/great-sand-dunes-national-park-and-preserve-151545/review-o20173 Tue, 16 Jan 2007 04:41:00 +0100
The sun was just rising when I headed down the trail towards the enormus mountains of sand. Hiking up the dunes is something I do every year I visit the Sand Dunes. Atop the Star Dune, the view is just unbelievable. It takes two to three hours to complete the hike, and towards the end it is a challenge to scale the steep hills of moving sand, but it is absolutely worth the view from the top.

Looking ahead I can see the magnificent Sangre De Cristo mountains (home to some amazing hiking and waterfalls), looking behind I can see what seems like an endless field of sand. Smaller dunes that arent visible from the campground emerge and seem to go on forever. Looking out I can see the San Luis Valley in all it's glory, leading to the city of Alamosa, barely visible in the distance.

This is a sight that everybody should experience, because even though it's not romantic Tuscany or green Ireland, it has it's own beauty that can only come from nature sending tons upon tons of sand particles to a valley in the middle of the Rocky Mountains, making their own mountains when they usually make beaches by the water. It is unique and awe-inspiring and peaceful and exciting and it is quite possibly the most beautiful place in all of the United States.]]>