Day Hiking Trails: Video of Great Sand Dunes’ sand mountains

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Video of Great Sand Dunes’ sand mountains

Day hikers can traipse across North America’s highest sand dunes at Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado.

Mountains of sand rise out of a dune field covering nearly 30 square miles. One of the dunes – Star Dune – at 750-feet high would reach half-way up the Empire State Building.

The best day hike through the sand dune is the 2.5-mile round trip High Dune Trail. It heads to High Dune, which rises 650 feet, and offers a view of Star Dune just beyond it.

Here’s a panning shot of the sand dunes:

• High Dune Trail description
• Great Sand Dunes’ top sights

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks guidebook.

Meet the Author

My name is Rob Bignell. I'm a long-time hiker, journalist and editor. My son Kieran and I have been hiking together for the past decade. Before Kieran, I taught middle school students in New Mexico and Wisconsin, served as an infantryman in the Army National Guard, and worked in newspapers. I've won several journalism awards, from editorial writing to sports reporting. In 2001, The Prescott Journal, which I served as managing editor of, was named Wisconsin’s Weekly Newspaper of the Year. Currently I own and operate an online editing business, Inventing Reality Editing Service. After spending several years in Southern California, my son and I now live in Wisconsin on the scenic Red Cedar River.