• Illustrated cover in a vintage screen-print poster style: tall golden sand dunes with sharp crests and deep violet shadows sweep across the frame below the snow-capped blue and lavender peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains under a teal sky, with Medano Creek winding through the grassland and dark green yucca and shrubs in the foreground, above the title Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
  • Sample page from the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve guide, wildlife chapter. Entry: Great Sand Dunes tiger beetle, with how to recognize it, where and when to see it, and a photograph.
  • Sample page from the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve guide, a day itinerary with times, distances, and a photograph: Grasslands, Star Dune, and the Crestone Peaks.
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Brian Russ Guides

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve: History, Highlights, and One- to Three-Day Adventures

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve: History, Highlights, and One- to Three-Day Adventures

$2.99 USD
$2.99 USD
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In southern Colorado, the tallest sand dunes in North America rise against the snowy peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. This guide helps you plan one, two, or three days there: when to climb the dunes before the sand gets hot, where to sled, and which trails to save for the afternoon.

What's inside

  • Nine ready-made itineraries: one, two, and three days, each at easy, moderate, and strenuous effort, from a first walk onto the dunes to High Dune, Zapata Falls, a Jeep trip up Medano Creek, Medano Lake, Star Dune, and Hidden Dune, each with a weather backup
  • The park's history, from the Ute, Jicarilla Apache, Diné, and Pueblo homelands and the peeled trees of Indian Grove to Zebulon Pike, homesteaders, a gold rush, and the women who saved the dunes
  • Sightseeing highlights: the dunefield, Medano Creek, sandboarding, the foothill trails, the Medano Pass Primitive Road, Zapata Falls, and the dark night sky
  • A wildlife chapter profiling 13 animals, from mule deer, elk, pronghorn, and bighorn sheep to short-horned lizards and an endemic tiger beetle, each with a photograph and notes on where and when to look
  • Trip planning for seasons, fees, campsites, lodging, food and fuel, sand, heat, and lightning safety, accessibility, and pets
  • 34 photographs and 4 orientation maps

What you'll receive

  • EPUB ebook (Great_Sand_Dunes_National_Park_and_Preserve_Brian_D_Russ.epub, about 12 MB) for Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play Books, and most e-reader apps. Kindle readers can send it to their library with Amazon's Send to Kindle.
  • PDF (Great_Sand_Dunes_National_Park_and_Preserve_Brian_D_Russ.pdf, 95 pages including the cover, about 27 MB) for any device, and for printing pages. It opens on the illustrated cover.

Your download link arrives by email right after purchase.

Edition

First illustrated edition, October 2026, with research completed October 2026. Medano Creek's flow, road conditions, and fire restrictions change from season to season, so check the park's current alerts before you travel.

Start early, wear shoes, and stay out late for the stars.

This is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service.
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