Great Sand Dunes National Preserve

The Great Sand Dunes National Preserve is the part of the Sangre de Cristo Range immediately east of the Great Sand Dunes National Park dunefield, and there are a variety of options to explore it. From the dunes side, one can follow either the Liberty Road Trail from the north or the Sand Ramp Trail from the south to the Sand Creek Trail that heads deep into the Preserve and climbs over 17 miles to Lower and Upper Sand Creek Lake. The shorter way to visit these lakes would be to start at the Music Pass Trailhead on the east side of the range from Westcliffe, CO and head over Music Pass. A 4x4 trip along Medano Creek from the Great Sand Dunes to the east side of the Sangres over Medano Pass is another popular way to see the Preserve, with a hike up to Medano Lake possible from a trailhead near the pass.