2 Days at Great Sand Dunes National Park (and nearby!)
We recently took a little trip to Great Sand Dunes with the family. We had visited a couple years ago and thought it would be fun to visit again. While the first time we only had a day, this time we had 2 days at Great Sand Dunes National Park to enjoy. One day was great, but two days was even better and we found ourselves able to explore a bit more.
Let’s Jet, Kids! uses affiliate links. As an Amazon (and other networks) Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. It is no extra cost to you. See full disclosure policy for more info.
Here I’ll provide you with a 2 day Great Sand Dunes itinerary so your family can spend the time really exploring the area around this great park. From natural waves on the sand to waterfalls to crocodiles, this will be one of the more unique national park trips you make.
Follow along to have your 2 day adventure all ready to go!
2 Days at Great Sand Dunes- Arrival
If you arrive the night before your adventure begins, check-in to Great Sand Dunes Lodge, which is just a couple miles from the park entrance. This will make your trip SO convenient. The only downside is that their on-site restaurant will be the only place to eat for many miles. Unless you pack your own food, of course.
Alternatively, you can check-in to a hotel in Alamosa which is the closest main town by the Sand Dunes. There are plenty of lodging options and restaurants, grocery stores, and a Walmart in town in case you need anything. While it’s a 30+ minute drive to the park, Alamosa has everything you need during your trip.
Day 1
Rent Your Sled
After breakfast, head to Kristi Sports in Alamosa (check hours ahead of time) or Oasis down the road from the sand dunes to pick up your sand sled. If you are staying at Great Sand Dunes Lodge, you can rent a board from there (guests only!).
Dunes in April. The creek has not started to flow yet.
Head to Dunes
Take US-160 (the main road into Alamosa) east to CO-150 and turn left/north. You’ll be on 150 about 17 miles until you get to the park! You’ll drive past the visitor center just a short ways until you come to the parking lot for the dunes.
With your sled in hand, take you day pack with a few snacks and lots of water and start hiking into the dunes. You’ll have about a 1/2 mile of flat sand before you get the base of the dunes.
If it’s May/June, you’ll need to cross the stunning Medano Creek, named by Travel and Leisure as one of the best 25 beaches in the USA! This is a great place to splash around and stay cool in the hot summer months before it dries up. Make sure to bring a towel because whether you play or not, you’ll have to cross it!
Spend an hour or two or three playing and exploring the dunes. There are no trails as the sand gets blown and re-formed each evening. You are free to climb around wherever you’d like.
Some people challenge themselves to reach the highest dune, which stands over 700 feet tall from the base. But you don’t have to climb far to find a great place to sled.
Sledding on the Dunes
As I mentioned, you’ll need to rent a sand sled before you arrive to sled on the dunes. While New Mexico’s White Sands welcome snow sleds, they will NOT work on this type of sand.
Make sure to have a puck of wax and rub it around the bottom of the sled for best anti-friction base. Then hop on and sled away!
Visitor Center
The visitor center has some great exhibits and a little gift shop inside. This is where the kids can pick up their Junior Ranger booklet to earn their badge.
Enjoy a short film about the Dunes and take in great views, as the windows of the center look right out to the sands a short distance away.
Then step outside to one of the picnic tables and enjoy your packed-lunch with a view.
View from Monteville Nature Trail from the Visitor Center Trail connector
Montville Nature Trail
After you’re fueled up, take a nice easy hike on Montville Nature Trail. This is located just across the main road from the Visitor Center and up the road a stone’s throw away.
You could also stay parked at the visitor center and start the trail there, which adds about 1/4 mile.
The trail itself is 1/2 mile from its parking lot, plus another 1/2 r/t if you start from the Visitor Center parking lot. It’s a beautiful trail with stretches along Mosca Creek and great views of the sand dunes. There’s plenty of foliage (which bursts with color in the fall) and is pretty easy for kids to manage.
Zapata Falls Trail
On your way out of the park, you’ll see signs to get to Zapata Falls. Follow those signs (you’ll turn east off 150) up to the parking lot for the trailhead. You’ll drive a ways up the mountain slowly, so it’ll take a little over 20 minutes from the Visitor Center to get there.
The Zapata Falls Trail is a relatively easy trail that has some incline to it. It’s made of smaller and larger rocks on top of packed natural surface.
Dinner, then Night Sky
Head back to town to wind down a little and grab something to eat. There’s a Chili’s in town if you would like something familiar. There’s also Purple Pig Pizza, which has not just wood fired pizza but also pasta and salads and it’s delicious.
After a long, lazy dinner, head back into the park to witness the night sky. Great Sand Dunes is one of the International Dark Sky Parks, meaning there’s not much light pollution nearby and you’ll get to see thousands of stars more than in the city. You’ll ideally want to wait 1-1/2 hours until after sunset, and want to go on a night that is both cloudless and moonless.
You can check the moon phase schedule here to see if it’ll be a decent night for star gazing.
When you park at the dunes, make sure to have a flashlight, clothing layers and blankets (it gets cold at night!), and keep an eye on where the parking lot is. There are no lights on the dunes!
Day 2 at Great Sand Dunes
Sleep in a little from your night of stargazing.
Sand Dunes on our visit in March
Head Back to the Sand Dunes
Rent a sled again if you’d like, or just head to the dunes for some fun exploring. Pack a lunch with you and either enjoy your food on the dunes (don’t lose any trash!) or walk down the the picnic area a few steps from the parking lot.
You might ask why you’re going back to the sand dunes, again. Is it really worth returning to the dunes?
A big YES. For two reasons.
1- Ideally, it’s just another really fun day on the sand. When we went to the sand dunes our first time, we thought we would spend just an hour or two, check it off, and head somewhere else.
But we had SO much fun that we actually had to return our sled to the alternate location because it was after-hours.
2- The weather at the dunes can be unpredictable, mostly because of wind. The first time we went, it was so calm and beautiful. It was perfect.
A day later my friend called and said they were there and sent a video of how incredibly windy it was.
If you go two days, that gives you better chances of having a calm day. Though it’s not guaranteed.
Visit the Gator Park
I’m not gonna lie, I wasn’t that interested in visiting the Gator Park. After all, how exciting could it be after you see the first alligator to make a whole visit out of it.
But we have the Get Out Pass and it comes with admission to the Gator Park, and since we were so close, we decided to go. At least the kids may get a kick out of it.
And let me tell you…
It was SO fun. On the drive home, my husband and I kept saying we were so glad we decided to go after all because it was a blast. If you have two days at Great Sand Dunes National Park planned, make sure to stop here.
It was educational, entertaining, exciting, and the staff was so friendly and helpful.
The Gator Park has more than just gators. You’ll also see plenty of lizards, snakes, be able to get close and feed the turtles, and even emu’s.
The gators are the highlight, and there are SO. MANY. to see. From Caimans to Albinos, it’s really cool to see these animals up close. Grab a bucket of gator food when you arrive and watch for signs in the park that allow you to throw some food in.
In fact, you can even hold a baby gator (with the supervision of the educated staff, of course).
How Long Will the Gator Park take?
We took about an 1-1/2 hours to go through the park. This was a pretty leisurely pace, getting to enjoy each exhibit. You could walk through faster, but if anything, I’d suggest slowing down and really enjoying.
You can touch and feed the turtles, feed the alligators, pet the docile emu, feed the fish (where noted), and witness albino crocs. The end even has a playground where little ones can enjoy playtime with the emu walking around.
The souvenir shop at the end (same as the entrance) is a great place to support the cause with a little shopping, chat with staff, and wash up.
Dinner
Head back to Alamosa to enjoy dinner on your last night. Again, you can hit Chili’s, Purple Pig Pizza, plenty of Mexican food options, or a couple Italian places. They also have quicker things like Jimmy Johns and Domino’s.
We ended up being there on a Sunday night where not a lot was open (we spent forever looking up restaurants!), so to save you some time, Chili’s and Purple Pig were both open Sunday evenings. Make sure to check hours before heading over.
Great Sand Dunes 2 Day Itinerary
From hiking to sledding to holding a gator, there is a lot you can do with 2 days at Great Sand Dunes National Park. While the majority of the time is within the park, the other activities are nearby and make for a fun, adventurous getaway.
Make sure to see Zapata Falls, buried between towering canyon walls, and catch incredible views from the visitor center when you pick up your Junior Ranger booklet.
Great Sand Dunes has a lot to do all around, making a trip down to Alamosa plenty of fun for a couple days away.
Which are you most excited to see?
👉🏼 Join my Colorado Family Travel Facebook group to share your adventures!
