Great Sand Dunes National Park Backcountry Permits

Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve pairs a broad dune field with the forested foot of a mountain range, under National Park Service management. In the photographs the dunes run to the horizon as smooth grey-tan ridges, with a dark mountain wall rising directly behind them. Away from the sand the ground is grass and sage, then stands of aspen, pinyon, juniper and ponderosa pine; one flat clearing under aspens is bare earth ringed by grass beneath a rocky crag, and a carved wooden trail sign marks a junction where the path narrows to a footworn line through the grass. One view follows a small creek running through bare cottonwoods and conifers below a snow-covered summit. The listing is a backcountry permit for the park and preserve.