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After seeing some of the beautiful fall colors Colorado has to offer (here’s part I and part II of this Colorado trip if you are interested in visiting Rocky Mountain National Park and Aspen), we drove toward Great Sand Dunes National Park for a change of scenery and some unique landscape that I did not expect to see in Colorado.
Day 5: Great Sand Dunes National Park
Before you enter the park, be sure to stop by Oasis store which is located only a few miles away from the park entrance. You can grab a quick bite and rent a sandboard/sandsled here. The store is only open from April to mid-October, so make sure to rent sandboard/sandsled elsewhere before coming to the park during other times of the year. I highly recommend adding sandboarding/sandsleding as part of your visit to this park. I had a lot fun as a first timer!
There’s no obvious sign or trail from the parking lot, so we just hiked toward what we thought was the highest point among the dunes, which we named the high dune🤣. But the High Dunes is actually not the tallest in the park, it just looks that way. So if you want a more accurate or easier way to hike the dunes, please stop by the visitor center and ask the ranger as the dunes changes from time to time.
Sandsledding is easy even for a first timer😊
- First, you need to wax the back of the sled each time before you sled.
- Then find a decent slope.
- Place both of your feet on the sled.
- Use your hands to paddle in the sand to get the sledding motion started.
- Once you are moving, you can hold onto the strap located on both side of the sled.
- Have fun!
Day 6: Garden of the Gods and The United States Air Force Academy
There are plenty of things to do in Garden of the Gods. We hiked bretag/palmer trail in combination of central garden trail. It nearly circles the entire park and is flat most of the way😀
If you love Rock climbing, Garden of Gods is the spot! It has at least 149 routes to explore and offers a wide range of difficulties from beginner level to advanced climber.
The park also offers a lot fun photo opportunities 😂, such as the balance rock.
Leaving the park, we visited the US Air Force Academy. Be sure to join one of the guided tour offers at the visitor center. You will learn some interesting facts about the life as a cadet, such as the freshmen can only run on the marble strips 😮.
Unfortunately, the famous chapel was closed for renovation during our visit and won’t be open until maybe 2023 😥
Thank you for reading! I hope these posts help you plan your trip or inspire you to do some exploration of your own.
