Great Sands Dunes National Park

From Alamosa, take Route 160 east, then north on Route 150 to the Great Sand Dunes NP.  It is about 34 miles.  It was particularly hot (90's) during our mid day visit on June 5, 2018, so we decided to do limited hiking at the dunes. During a previous visit in March, 2000, we had hiked all the way up the dunes. In addition to the heat, the elevation in the park is 8200ft. The tallest sand dunes is another 750ft. We feel the best time of year to visit these dunes would be in the spring or fall months. 

Some people braved the heat, as can be seen in the images below.  You will also notice the different coloration due to the changing cloud cover.