Tallest Sand Dune in North America

North America is home to a variety of monumental landmark icons. In my own town of Lake Havasu, I drive by the ACTUAL London Bridge every day. Not a replica; the real thing which was obtained by the founder of Lake Havasu many years ago from England. It was then shipped over to Long Beach and trucked inland to Arizona brick by brick. The iconic bridge was rebuilt and over the years has been awarded the honor of second most visited landmark in Arizona. The title of the tallest sand dune in North America goes to the state of Colorado.

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is home to wildlife, aspen forests, wetlands and alpine lakes. It is also home to the tallest dune in North America reaching a staggering 750 feet high. This national park is located in the southern part of Colorado and stretches about 30 square miles. It is estimated that this dune system holds roughly 5 billion cubic meters of sand. But what is most interesting about this national park is the climate. During the summer months, in many regions in the United States, it's far too hot for sand dune activities. As an example, the Imperial County dune system (Glamis) opens their season at the end of October. This is because of the intense heat during the summer months. Great Sand Dunes National Parks hottest months of June through August reach on average 80 degrees with a record high that doesn’t even hit 100 degrees. They do warn though that in certain areas during the summer the sand surface can reach to 150 degrees so caution is advised when you are out there trudging the area to find your peak.

If you check out this location on the web, there is a ton of literature and video content discussing things to do all year round (click here). Sandboarding and sledding are just one of many and the park is open 24 hours. There are also stores that rent out sandboards and sleds although we encourage all your sandboarding enthusiasts to pick up a Slip Face Sandboard and BYOB (bring your own board) to every dune we write about in our blogs. With the holiday season rapidly approaching you will need to strap on a snowboard to ride at this particular location but put it on the sandboard bucket list.

Until next week. Make sure to wax your board and send out a holiday wish to the God of sand dunes!