Hike #3 – Star Dunes Loop, Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve, Colorado
Distance: 6.6 miles / Time Required: 1–2 days / Difficulty: Intermediate
The Star Dunes Loop is nestled in south-central Colorado, 100 miles southwest of Pueblo.
Ascend North America’s tallest dunes for a day surrounded by alpine peaks, a desert valley, and shifting mountains of sand.
While most national parks protect the most incredible places on our planet, Great Sand Dunes’ eerie juxtaposition of hulking, wind-whipped piles of sand shoved against precipitous mountains feels more like a preserve on an alien world.
Once you crest the sprawling beige dunefield, it’s easy to feel like you’ve crash-landed on a distant planet. The extraterrestrial visuals are abetted by spooky audio: The sand-muffled wilderness here is so silent that nighttime readings bottom out beyond the capabilities of the NPS Natural Sounds Program’s ultra-sensitive instruments. Our earthbound physics can explain why: Sand dampens sound waves (some recording studios even use it), so it’s safe to say that any peep in this 30-square-mile dunefield doesn’t stand a chance.
Route: The dunes also offer one-small-step-for-mankind exploratory opportunities. There are no trails; hike more than 1.5 miles into it and you can camp anywhere. Claim your quiet and target Star Dune, the tallest dune in North America at nearly 1,000 feet, and listen as the sand vibrates beneath your boots, alternately sighing, whistling, grunting, groaning, and barking. Then hike about 4.5 miles northwest from Medano Creek; camp in the dunefield after and enjoy the silence.
