#9 of 17 sights in Great Sand Dunes
Sight · Great Sand Dunes National Park
A timberline lake after 2,000 feet of climbing from a 4WD road.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Great Sand Dunes Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Great Sand Dunes National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Medano Lake Trailhead“You're approaching the spur to Medano Lake Trailhead, where a long forest climb leads to a lake at timberline beneath Mount Herard.”
Plays as you drive up to Medano Lake in the Parkwolf Great Sand Dunes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Medano Lake is a high alpine lake in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, within Great Sand Dunes National Preserve. Reaching it means hiking from a trailhead on Medano Pass Primitive Road; it is not a stop you can drive up to. Plan on a serious outing: the route climbs about 2,000 feet from a trailhead near 10,000 feet, before you count the remote 4WD approach.
Medano Pass Primitive Road is slow going through deep sand, rocky sections and repeated Medano Creek crossings. The full primitive-road drive averages 2½–3 hours. Beyond Point of No Return, high-clearance four-wheel drive with a low-range transfer case is required; two-wheel drive and AWD are prohibited on that section. The road typically becomes fully open in mid-to-late May and stays open into late November when weather allows. Check road conditions before setting out, and bring the food and water you need for a self-supported outing.
From around 10,000 feet, the trail climbs through meadows and forest to the lake at timberline. It is steep high-country walking, with about 2,000 feet of elevation gain. Alpine-lake trails can have significant treefall across them, so expect obstacles and check with rangers for current trail conditions. Snow can linger on high trails into early summer.
Advanced hikers can continue to Mount Herard's 13,297-foot summit for an aerial view across the dunes. Treat it as a serious extension to an already demanding hike, not as a casual extra stop.
At the shore, keep some water in the foreground and the rocky bowl above it; that low shoreline angle makes the lake and its timberline setting read together.
Wildlife
16 sightingsElkMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
21 sightingsPronghornMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
12 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
153 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
38 sightingsRavenMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
15 sightingsRed-tailed HawkMost seen around 11 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Great Sand Dunes. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingMedano Lake Trail7.4 mi · 5.5 hr · 2.6 mi awayCreekside forest climbs to an alpine lake beneath Mount Herard.
ChallengingSand Creek Trail10 mi · 9 hr · 4.5 mi awayA full-day creek climb to alpine lakes; high water can stop you.
ChallengingLower Sand Creek Lake Trail8 mi · 6 hr · 4.7 mi awayThe steep pass opens onto a high alpine lake basin.
ModerateMusic Pass Trail2.2 mi · 2 hr · 4.7 mi awayA steep climb to a sweeping Sand Creek basin view.
ChallengingUpper and Lower Sand Creek Lakes Hike9.9 mi · 6.5 hr · 4.7 mi awayTwo lakes beyond Music Pass, with hard miles in between.
ChallengingUpper Sand Creek Lake Trail7.7 mi · 7.5 hr · 4.7 mi awayHigh alpine lake after a steep pass and loose basin descent.
Sight · 0.7 mi awayMount HerardA steep, remote climb earns a view over the entire dune field.
Sight · 2.9 mi awayMedano PassA high-country crossing reached by a demanding 4WD road.
Sight · 3.2 mi awayHerard HomesteadA remote ranch ruin with a remarkable bighorn story.
Sight · 4.1 mi awayLittle Sand Creek LakesA remote pair of alpine lakes beyond the steep Music Pass climb.
Sight · 4.8 mi awayIndian GroveGenerations of bark harvesting left their mark on this living pine grove.Parkwolf’s Great Sand Dunes ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
