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Thanks to healthy snowpack and large spring runoff, Medano Creek at the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is already flowing stronger than normal this season.
According to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Medano Creek is already flowing at 160% of the average. Medano Creek’s flow is now forecast to be over 160% of average in depth and duration for 2019. Due to very high snowpack and cold temperatures, this year’s peak flow is also not expected until early June rather than late May.
If you’re lucky enough to catch the Medano Creek while it’s still flowing, there are numerous outdoor activities for visitors to enjoy including surfing, wading, skimboarding, floating, sand castle building, and sand-sculpting.
Medano Pass Primitive Road will likely be closed before the first creek crossing within the next few weeks due to dangerously high water levels and will not open all the way over the pass until after flow has reached its peak.
If you’re planning on visiting this popular destination, be sure to arrive early to avoid traffic, overflowing parking lots, full campgrounds, and large crowds.
We are driven by our deep respect for our environment, and our passionate commitment to sustainable tourism and conservation. We believe in the right for everyone – from all backgrounds and cultures – to enjoy our natural world, and we believe that we must all do so responsibly. Learn More
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May 1, 2018
No, It’s not a mirage. Each fall, bands of ski bums return to Great Sand Dunes National Park as regularly as migrating elk to skid down the 750-foot-high dunes in a tradition that, for many, begins the new ski season. One group from the Boulder area comes dressed as Arab sheiks. Members of a Summit […]
June 30, 2015
There was a time in the not-too-distant past, longtime Breckenridge residents say, when a dog could lie in Main Street all day and not be bothered by a car. The population was 393 in 1960, on the verge of becoming a ghost town after the collapse of mining. Today, it’s the postcard of a Colorado […]
June 4, 2013
A snap of a twig woke me with a start. I was deep in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado, miles from the nearest road, with nothing but a thin layer of nylon between me and whatever was out there creeping through the night. There are no grizzly bears here, I told myself. Right? […]
July 3, 2015
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, an extremely out-of-place heap of shifting sand located in the world’s largest alpine valley, is one of Colorado’s most remarkable natural wonders. The dunes were formed over millions of years by blowing sand meeting the unflinching barrier of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, which rise from the valley […]
April 12, 2017
What do alpine tundras, deserts, mountains, plains, forests and grasslands have in common? They are all habitats that can be found in the geographically diverse state of Colorado. One especially unique habitat is the Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve Located in the San Luis Valley high elevation desert, the dunes encompass about 30 square […]
April 19, 2018
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