Parking
Park at Point of No Return on Medano Pass Primitive Road. 2WD vehicles can reach this access; the road beyond requires high-clearance 4WD with low-range 4L.
Overview
About Sand Pit Trail
Why go
- A short eastern approach reaches the Medano Creek and dune-field edge.
- Mt. Herard frames the dunes from the foothills.
Heads up
- Loose sand makes the return climb slower than the distance suggests.
- The creek approach can be affected by changing seasonal flow.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Great Sand Dunes map
Full mapElevation8,186–8,369 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Great Sand Dunes alerts
- CautionSwift, deep water on Medano Pass Primitive RoadMentions Medano Pass Primitive Road, referenced in this guideMedano Pass Primitive Road is open, but heavy rain has created swift water up to 3 feet deep, especially at creek crossings 3, 4, and 5.Official details
- CautionStage 1 fire restrictionsStage 1 fire restrictions are active throughout Great Sand Dunes; use fires only in designated steel fire rings or picnic-site barbecues.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Great Sand Dunes Tour Guide
Your drive to Sand Pit Trail, narrated.
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 trailhead
Point of No Return and Sand Pit Trail0:00 / 0:26
“You're nearing Point of No Return, the last parking area for two-wheel-drive vehicles on Medano Pass Primitive Road.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Great Sand Dunes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Ponderosa Point
- Sand Pit Picnic Area
- Piñon Flats and Dunes Overlook
- Castle Creek Picnic Area
- 31 audio storiesacross Great Sand Dunes’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Elk, Pronghorn, Wild Turkey, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 17 trails, 29 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Sand Pit Trail
A short walk to the creekSand Pit Trail is a 1.
Sand Pit Trail is a 1.2-mile out-and-back from Point of No Return to the edge of Medano Creek and the dunes. Allow about an hour. The open footpath descends toward the dune field, then the return climb feels longer in loose sand than the mileage suggests. The payoff is a close look at the eastern dune edge, with Mt. Herard rising behind it.
Follow the main pathThe trail starts just beyond the Point of No Return parking area. Around 0.
The trail starts just beyond the Point of No Return parking area. Around 0.3 mile in, a branch leads to Sand Pit Picnic Area; bear left on the more-used main path to continue toward the creek. The ground gets lower as you approach the water. The shorter ¾-mile one-way access walk ends at Sand Pit; this version continues to the creek-side edge and returns the same way.
Stop at Medano CreekThe route finishes at Medano Creek.
The route finishes at Medano Creek. Sand mounds in the stream bed build and collapse to make the creek's wave-like surge flow, usually strongest in late May or early June in an average year. Snowpack shifts the timing and water depth from year to year, so don't assume the creek will be easy to cross. The path ends here; beyond the creek, the broad dunefield has no marked trails, and Hidden Dune is a separate off-trail hike.
The view from the foothillsLook west across the rolling dunes and back toward Mt. Herard.
Look west across the rolling dunes and back toward Mt. Herard. Spring through early fall can bring wildflowers along the route, though the mix changes through the season. This short approach is a good fit if you want to reach the dunes without signing up for a long sand hike.
Getting to the startPark at Point of No Return on Medano Pass Primitive Road.
Park at Point of No Return on Medano Pass Primitive Road. A 2WD vehicle can reach this access; the road beyond it requires high-clearance 4WD with low-range 4L. Pets are not permitted north of Point of No Return, including this trail.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Great Sand Dunes
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.
