Great Dunes Trail

Great Dunes Trail is an out-and-back from Collins Road to a high Atlantic-facing bluff south of Ballston Beach. The trail itself is about 2.6 miles round trip; allow 1½ to 2 hours, including time at the overlook. You climb gently through woods, then leave the trees for low dune scrub and a broad view over the beach. A local account's 3.2-mile outing starts farther north along Collins Road and appears to include the extra road walk, so use the trail opening as the start for the shorter distance. This is a good choice for a wooded approach with a striking coastal finish, but the entrance is unmarked and the walk is not on the Seashore's published list of named trails; confirm access before setting out.

The entrance opens onto a broad dirt track that climbs gradually through coastal woods. The first roughly 0.7 mile is mostly straight with gentle rolling ground. After a slight S-turn, the path stays in the forest for about another half-mile before the tree cover breaks into low dune scrub. The last stretch narrows and climbs toward the bluff, so the walk changes from a shaded, steady approach to an open sandy finish.

At the end, the Atlantic backshore opens below the bluff, with waves more than 100 feet beneath the viewpoint. The drop is steep and unprotected, and the bluff is actively eroding; storms can move the rim and change which point sits highest. Stay several feet back from the lip. For a photo, frame along the coastline with the scrubby bluff in the foreground and the beach and ocean below.

Despite the trail's name, the high point is described as a glacial bluff, not a ridge built from sand piled up by surf. A former seashore coastal geologist thought it was probably the park's highest remaining glacial bluff, and a topographic map places the high point near 168 feet. That is an approximate local identification, not a signed summit marker; the erosion that makes the edge hazardous also means the high point can shift.

Look for the first unmarked opening on the east side of Collins Road near Great Pond. A small sandy pull-off is reported just north of it, and local accounts also describe roadside parking along Collins Road; no formal lot capacity or fee was verified. The National Seashore permits pets on fire roads and a short list of named exceptions, but not on its other walking trails, so leave pets behind on this route.