Great Sand Dunes NP in a half day?

You won’t need a ton of time to see it, but it all depends on what you plan to do there. Drive up, look at the dunes and leave? Sled? Hike? You could definitely hit the high points in half a day. It will be hot at that time, but not unbearable.
Have you mapped out getting there and included that already since you only have 1/2 a day? If you are traveling back from Black Canyon of the Gunnison you could detour through there, otherwise it takes a little time to get to and isn’t really on the way to anywhere.

We stopped by there last year on the way from Denver to Santa Fe via Hwy 17. We got there late in the day, after the visitor center had closed. We just drove down to the parking lot and walked down to access point to the dune. You have to wade across a shallow river to get to it. We didn't do that - we weren't prepared for wet and sandy feet.

IIRC there are no marked trails on the dune, you just go where you want.
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Also, if you have a 4x4 and are coming from the north, you could cross medano pass to get there. This will obviously add time, but it’s a dramatic entrance into the park. Mid summer the water crossings are low and was no problem for my stock tundra. Current pass conditions can be found here

Visit Mesa Verde if that's not already on your list.

dont miss zapata falls a short drive and hike away

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dont miss zapata falls a short drive and hike away

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Agree. This is a real lesser known gem.

Last week the entire long house area of the park was inaccessible and the spruce house was closed for restoration, although you could view it from a distance. No telling how much longer it will stay that way.

Never heard of this place but stopped by on our last day out west just last week. It's definitely off the beaten path, and not near anything, but 100% worth it.
I think this was one of the coolest places i've ever been. Since we were there at peak water flow time, the creek that flows through it was a ton of fun for the kids as well as the dog. They had to have 2000-3000 people there when we went on Saturday. The park is so huge it's not hard at all to find some space to yourself.
If you have kids, you can easily spend an entire day there. It's like being at the beach without all the trash people, heat, and overcrowding. It was probably in the 60's, with the wind blowing, and freezing cold water but my kids played in that water for hours, as did hundreds of others.
If you like hiking and views, you can easily spend 1+ days there. There's hikes in the mountains you can do as well.
If it's just you and the wife and you aren't into hiking too much or sledding down the dunes, you will still enjoy a good 2 hours there.

Regardless, i would without a doubt go out of my way again to see this National Park, especially if you are going in the month of June when the water is flowing the best. Seeing gigantic sand dunes next to a 14,000 foot snow capped mountain is special.

And you will get your feet soaking wet if you plan on walking on the dunes. There's no way around the water at this time of the year at peak flow, so you have to walk through it to get to the dunes, so wear water shoes of some sort. ANd walking up sand dunes several hundred feet high is quite the workout.

and fyi, you have to stop by the rental place right before the entrance to the park if you want to sled/board down the dunes. I think there's other places to get them, but that's the last place to get them. and you need those specific boards to get down the dunes, as cardboard or other flat objects aren't going to work.


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Glad I saw this. I’ll be in Durango in a few weeks and think I’ll stop by to mark this NP off of my list!

Thanks for the info. We will try to get there as early in the morning as possible. It’s only a little out of the way on our drive path, so we will definitely still stop and see it. Hopefully the creek still has some water.