Great Sand Dunes National Park is located about 240 miles southwest of Denver, in the south central part of Colorado. It lies in the San Luis Valley, adjacent to the Sangre de Cristo mountains.

The park has the highest sand dunes in North America - the tallest reaching 750 feet. The San Luis Valley was created by uplifting of the Sangre de Cristo Range to the east and the creation of the San Juan Mountains to the west through extended volcanic activity. A huge lake once covered the valley floor and, as it dried up, large deposits of sand and silt were left behind.

The dunes were formed over tens of thousands of years by winds blowing across this dry lake bed. The unique geography of the area creates prevailing southwesterly winds that pile the sand up against the mountains, and opposing winds during mountain storms which blow the sand in the opposite direction. These opposing winds create the unusually high dune fields. They also provide stability to the dunes, which have changed little in size and scope over many thousands of years.

The park is definitely off the beaten path. The closest towns are Blanca and Alamosa, about thirty miles distant. And they’re both very small. We visited in early October and there were very few park visitors. By late October, most of the services close for the season.

Silence is phenomenal here. Around sundown, when even the few visitors who were there were tucking in for the night, the only sound was the wind. No traffic, no jets, no mechanical or human voices for miles. Even the birds were silent. Come here to experience solitude.

And the night sky is a sight to behold. There is no artificial light pollution because there are no towns near the park. The closest town is Blanca and it's small. The stars and the Milky Way are revealed as they are in few other locations in the U.S. I can remember skies like this when I was growing up, but that was a long time ago! If you're a star gazer, this is the place to be, especially late in the season when the temperatures are quite cool and the air is exceptionally clear.