Tom's National Park Adventure

Great Sand Dunes National Park. May 14, 2026 part 2

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This morning I headed out to explore the Dunefields. I left the campground and hiked directly into the Dunes.

Path from the campground into the Dunes
This sign leaves little doubt where you are headed!

The Dunes are massive! Hiking in and around the them is taxing. At anytime your footing can go from feeling like you are walking on concrete to feeling like you are sinking deeper and deeper into the sand with each step! There are two creeks that feed water into the Dunes. The Mosca Creek and the Medano Creek. Both creeks are seasonal. The mountains hold snow at the higher elevations until around April when the warmer temperatures cause the spring snow melt to happen.

Walking on this ridge was easy since the wind had packed the sand so tightly together.
Dune explorers on their way to the top of one of the Dunes.
The Medano Creek as it runs through the Dunefield
The creek gets very shallow and very wide
The water moves the sand as it travels into the valley
The water in the creek just stops! It is swallowed up by the sand!

The creeks supply water to the underground aquifers in the valley. The water makes is way into several smaller lakes on the western section of the valley. It provides the moisture needed to support the plant and animal life throughout the area.

From the sand dunes I hiked to the visitors center. The path was far “sandier” and much more difficult to traverse.

Path to the visitors center
Water just pops up seemingly out of nowhere and then disappears again!
It’s interesting to see how the constant windy conditions and arid temperatures have such as effect on how a Juniper tree grows!

So far.. the only wildlife I have seen has been to occasional bird and lots of Chipmunks around the campground. There lots of different species that call this area home. Bighorn Sheep, Black Bear, Bobcats, Kangaroo Rats, Elk, Sandhills Cranes and American Beavers are some of the more recognizable species.

Tracks on the path made by Kangaroo Rats!
I showed this picture to one of the rangers at the visitors center. He thought it was most probably Elk Scat that was in the path.
The visitors center at the base of a subalpine area of the park.

From the visitors center I hiked a portion of the Mosca Pass trail until I completed my hiking for the day on the Wellington Ditch trail that took me back to the campground.

Bridge on the Mosca Pass Trail
A stand of Aspen trees. I would love to see them in the fall when all their leaves are yellow/gold in color
Plaque along the trail honoring the homesteaders that blazed the trail into the valley by crossing the Mosca Pass.
It amazes me how the elements have their way with these trees! Even more incredible is how resilient the trees are! In my opinion these trees had to be the models used when they were making the Enchanted Forest for the filming of “The Wizard of Ozz”

All in all I hiked right at five miles on the day. Given the terrain…. I’m happy with that!

Tomorrow I’ll be leaving the park and heading north to go visit my son Logan and his family in Ft Collins.

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