Picnic area · Great Sand Dunes National Park
Sand dunes and Mount Herard share the view from this roadside stop.
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
Ponderosa Point“Ponderosa Point is coming up, a roadside pause with Mount Herard and the dunes in the same view. Herard rises to more than thirteen thousand feet.”
Plays as you drive up to Ponderosa Point Picnic Area in the Parkwolf Great Sand Dunes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
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Guide
Ponderosa Point Picnic Area is a named roadside picnic stop 1.4 miles from the western entrance of Medano Pass Primitive Road. The view takes in Mount Herard and the dunes. It makes sense as a pause on a dedicated four-wheel-drive outing, rather than an add-on to the park’s main dunes parking area.
Ponderosa Point is at mile 1.4, just beyond the Point of No Return at mile 1.1. Beyond that point, the National Park Service requires a high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicle with a low-range transfer case; two-wheel drive and all-wheel drive are prohibited. The 22-mile road crosses deep sand and Medano Creek nine times. It is usually passable from mid-to-late May through late November, weather permitting, so check current road conditions before setting out.
Mount Herard rises to 13,297 feet above the dune field, and both are part of the view from this stop. Tables, restrooms and drinking water are not documented for Ponderosa Point, so confirm facilities before relying on them.
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 via Medano Pass Primitive Road25.2 mi · 12.5 hr · 0.3 mi awayA long road-and-trail climb reaches Medano Lake beneath Mount Herard.
EasySand Pit Trail1.2 mi · 1 hr · 0.3 mi awayA short trail to Medano Creek with Mt. Herard on the skyline.
ChallengingSand Ramp Trail11 mi · 7 hr · 0.3 mi awayAn 11-mile one-way crossing through sandy foothills to Sand Creek.
ModerateDunes Overlook Trail2 mi · 1.8 hr · 1 mi awayA short foothill climb opens onto dunes and mountain views.
EasyMontville Nature Trail0.5 mi · 30 min · 1.9 mi awayA shady creek loop with dunes views and a trace of Montville.
EasyWellington Ditch Trail2.2 mi · 1.3 hr · 1.9 mi awayA quiet foothill walk with dune views and a 1927 irrigation ditch.
ModerateMosca Pass Trail7 mi · 4 hr · 1.9 mi awayA shady creek climb with dune views through the trees.
EasySand Sheet Loop Trail0.3 mi · 30 min · 2.1 mi awayA quick grassland loop with signs, dunes, and mountain views
Picnic area · 0.2 mi awaySand Pit Picnic AreaA 4WD picnic stop beside seasonal creek, dunes and mountains.
Sight · 0.5 mi awayDunes OverlookTwo wooded viewpoints frame the dunes and Mount Herald.
Picnic area · 0.7 mi awayCastle Creek Picnic AreaPicnic beneath a steep dune beside Medano Creek.
Campground · 1.1 mi awayPiñon Flats CampgroundA piñon-and-sagebrush base camp near the dunes.
Store · 1.2 mi awayPiñon Flats Campground StorePick up ice, firewood or snacks between campground loops.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayDunes AmphitheaterA seasonal ranger-talk venue beside Piñon Flats and the dunes.
Sight · 1.6 mi awayWellington HomesteadA cabin remnant puts the dunes’ homesteading past in view.
Beach · 1.7 mi awayMedano CreekSmall waves roll across the sand below the dunes when it runs.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.
