This short hike to the falls was one of the most worthwhile mini adventures taken in a long long…read moretime... The reward was this magical ice covered masterpiece of nature... We got super lucky with our timing and caught the falls in one of the most amazing moments.... Do not pass this one up...

A 30 foot frozen falls await you up a fairly steep one mile trail that has lots of rocks and plenty…read moreof ice/snow melt in late March. Be sure to wear shoes/boots with good grips for the trail. The hike is well worth it. As I approached the falls, the sound was just surreal as I could hear the water flowing below the frozen ice from the falls. There is also a beautiful blue glow from the frozen falls. A must see if you are near the Great Sand Dunes National Park.

This place is amazing! I always wondered how we have a Gator and Reptile Park in Colorado and…read moreunderstanding that it is because the geothermal well provides 87F water year-round. Upon entering, we were greeted by Matt who welcomed us with the biggest smile and asked us to share our experience that we had in the Crocodile Rescue in Zambia. Matt and the other employees are so passionate about all the rescued animals at the Park. We were greeted by another employee who explained that all the animals have either been confiscated by law enforcement, given up by their owners, or simply found (the giant iguana was found sitting in a tree by a man walking a neighborhood). All the animals have pasts that aren't the best but they get to live the rest of their lives in a sanctuary getting the proper care they deserve. The Park is vast and there are plans to make it even larger. What I thought would take only 30 minutes took well over 2 hours. I am a kid at heart and also love photography so this was best way to spend our early afternoon. I absolutely adore the staff!! They are amazing and are passionate, which shows in their personalities and how they light up talking about all the different animals.

This is a definite must see if you are going to be at the sand dunes for a few days and have kids…read more Lots to do and see! My kiddos loved feeding the tortoises, holding the baby gator, doing the zipline, feeding the emus, playing on the playground, and petting the cats in the gift shop. We spent more time there than we expected because the kids were having a grand old time. I would say because it's a working farm, there are some areas that are a bit messy / you need to keep an eye on your children around. The playground could use some updates / there are some parts that are broken or in need of fixing. The cats that live in the gift shop obviously use the area under the climbing wall as a litter box, and I saw several kids follow them in there. But everyone who worked there was really nice and informative.

Such a fun little spot close to the Sand dunes and such a gem in the valley for locals and tourists…read morealike. This spot has plenty of parking, camping and lots to offer. The pool/hot springs are split into 2 primary areas. One big area that is meant for all with a kids pool, large hot springs pool with diving boards for all to have fun, a snack bar with lots of goodies (but you can bring your own food in too if you want, which is great for families on a budget), a grassy picnic area, basketball court, and a small toddler friendly slide area as well. You can also rent cabanas. The other area is for 21+ in the greenhouse. It's fully separated from the family area and is an adult atmosphere. There is a bar, snack bar with a limited menu, dense lush greenery, and numerous hot pools of varying temps. There is also a sauna for sweating it out. We spend a lot of time here relaxing and enjoying the pool and cocktails. This is a great place to spend the day or evening. This is not a high end spa but a mid-tier budget friendly option that is well worth it. My only criticism is that the locker rooms could use some updating, but I'll still take it!

A great swimming pool and spa-like area for adults too. I really enjoyed this place! The water was…read morewarm! The environment was fun and relaxing. A variety of different pools and activities are available. There are also two restaurants with yummy food options. I appreciated the tranquil greenhouse for adults only. I hope I can visit again soon. This is a really unique and special place!!!!

The High Dune Trail on First Ridge is probably the most popular trail in Great Sand Dunes National…read morePark. The first dune you reach from the main parking lot, it's definitely not the tallest dune in the park but it leads to beautiful views of GSDNP. There are no trail markers for this hike - you'll cross the Medrano creek bed after leaving the parking lot and then follow the dunes and make your own way. Hiking in sand is definitely a more difficult experience, so do yourself a favor and take the shortest route to the top. While the trail is "technically" to the top of the dune, you can do some exploring at the top to get different views. And let me tell you, it is 100% worth it because it is so incredibly gorgeous from the top. This hike can get more intensive than you think - some of these hills are steep with the sand deep. There is absolutely zero shade cover, so you will be hiking in direct sunlight - wear a hat and plenty of sunscreen. On the same note, the sand can get INCREDIBLY HOT, so make sure to wear good hiking shoes to protect your feet. And pack a lot of water and snacks (remember, pack in, pack out!). We took about 3 hours for our full hike, but it will also depend on how many breaks you take and how equipped you are to hike in sand. These are the same dunes you'll see people sand-boarding and sand-sledding on. If you have the chance, rent a board and take part. It's a lot of fun! Overall, a great hike to introduce you to the sand dunes of the park. While there are some longer hikes that take you to taller dunes, we only had about 6 hours to spend in the park, and we also wanted to go sand-sledding. Super happy with this hike, the experiences, and the wonderful views of the park it gave us. Highly recommend!

Great Sand Dunes National Park is otherworldly and honestly one of the most unique landscapes to be…read moreexperiences in North America. It's a bit of a smaller park in terms of trails and not going to be like RMNP so make sure you know what you're getting into. We planned our trip for May when the creek is usually flowing and the dunes are optimal for sledding. Unfortunately for us we hit a patch of bad weather and it was drizzling our whole day spent here. Additionally the park is experiencing a dry spell and the creek that is usually flowing in May was still dry. C'est la vie! We still had a blast climbing the dunes, letting the kids play in the sand, and taking in the views. To be honest the views are the best part - it's incredible to see these dunes and learn more about the history of the landscape in this region of Colorado. We didn't get to sled as the conditions were not ideal for it but we plan on someday returning and doing the full experience. If you're on the fence about coming here it's well worth a visit!

As home to the tallest sand dunes in North America, this place is absolutely worth checking out. We…read morecame over Memorial Day weekend and we had been hearing rumblings in town that this is typically one of their busiest seasons of the year so we were really nervous we would have to wait in long lines, it would be crowded, and we wouldn't be able to enjoy our hike up the sand dunes. It was actually totally chill, it took maybe 15 minutes to get situated and pay for our park pass, drive to the dunes, and find parking but nothing outrageous. I will say the park rangers here are not friendly and fairly rude if I'm being honest. The dunes themselves were super fun, we had never been to anything with this much sand before so it was a blast sledding down the hills! All of the visitors were really nice and friendly to one another which is always great to see. We specifically rented a 4x4 jeep so we could go on the Medano Pass Primitive Road and probably only made it about 5 miles. THIS was actually crowded and unruly as it's one lane and you have to park on the side every now and then to let cars from the opposite direction come through. It was bumpy, not scenic at all, and rather annoying having to stop so frequently so we ended up ditching it and leaving to go to the visitor center instead. If I were to redo this part, I would have just rented a cheaper car that wasn't a 4x4 and saved loads of gas. Because the park is open 24/7, we were especially excited to come back at night though and see the dunes. We returned around 10:30pm and although there were some really annoying people blasting music in the dunes parking lot that ruined the ambiance, the stars were absolutely magnificent. Since it's a certified International Dark Sky Park,they were absolutely stunning and radiating from the night sky. We got so lucky it was a clear night so we could see them so well! That was the highlight of our trip for sure.

As a pair of traveling campers when all else failed Base Camp pulled through! We did not have an…read moreRV and only had tents, but the timing could not have worked out better. They had just finished a 10x10 tent pavilion and we were first to try it out and it is safe to say I am super excited to come back at my next trip to the sand dunes to see how everything has progressed. The hosts are super accommodating and really tried their best to make sure we were taken care of. 10/10 would recommend!

Level sites, easy in and out, great showers and bathrooms. Be sure to visit Alamosa visitor center,…read morelots of great information about the area and Colorado in general.

Looking for something to do and we came across this. It was $24 for two people to have unlimited…read morebowling for two hours which I feel is a very reasonable price. The lanes you can tell are very old and well used couldn't tell how oiled they were house balls definitely have seen some days but I can't complain. They have a restaurant inside the bowling alley and it seemed to have good smelling food coming from the kitchen. We came on a Saturday around 5:30 and the place was absolutely dead.

The food was delicious!! The service was great! Our waitress was Raylynn and she took the time to…read morevisit with us about the restaurant/menu, the bowling alley and the Valentines specials! We had no idea they had such a great selection on their menu. We definitely want to try breakfast next!

This ranch is absolutely amazing. From the accommodations, to staff, to the view and location this…read moreplace is 5 stars! I hope to be able to go back soon. Highly recommended!