Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve — what a great place to visit and camp!
We had a great time camping in the San Luis Valley. We stayed at Mosca Campground in the San Luis Valley, Colorado State Park. It was about 10 minutes from the Great Sand Dunes National Park and about 30 minutes from the historic town of Alamosa, Colorado.
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Truth be told, I was not over thrilled with the looks of the Mosca Campground…… just a bunch of sage bushes and RV’s looking like they were abandoned in some random fashion. However, the sites are well defined, very clean and very well maintained! And because it’s so high, it was not hot. That is a great thing to know in our book! For the record, we were there over the 4th of July.
There is a volley ball net and a horseshoe pit if you are looking for something to do within the campground.
The San Luis Valley is filled with history. There are pullouts and informational signs all over. Be on the lookout! Some of them just pop up on you without much warning!
We took a half a day jaunt down to Alamosa, Colorado. I couldn’t do a better job encouraging you to take some time in this friendly small town than this site. If you are a train lover, definitely consider putting Alamosa on your places to see list! I’ll just put up some images….. and you can walk your way through them!
And then we HAD to stop in downtown….
The Great Sand Dunes! Go there! Go there in May or June or early July when the creek is running. Gorgeous, unbelievable, centering, grounding…… It’s an awesome place!
There is camping within the Park but it’s mostly for tents and small campers. We only saw a handful of spots that would accommodate our 26 ft beauty. There is a campground right outside the park and there is the San Luis State Park we stayed in which is not too far away. Enjoy these images of our visit…..
If the creek is still running, then bring your sand castle building tools. We were there early in the morning so the kids weren’t out in it yet but I can only imagine how I would have loved to play in the moving water, diverting the stream, and building in the wet, heavy sand.
You can bring your own or rent sleds to slide down the sand dunes. We didn’t but I have friends who have spent hours climbing up and sliding down over and over again. Try to plan for this in the early morning or later in the afternoon/evening as the temperature of the sand can get quite high.
Zapata Falls is nearby — we started up there but the road was very rough. And if you want something different, there’s an alligator farm near the highway!
I was pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed this trek. Just far enough off the beaten path to not be a hassle and yet you are close enough to fun and interesting sights all around you.
