little medano creek

It is still early to have much water, but we really enjoyed playing at Medano Creek. Watch and LISTEN for the surge flow - micro hydrodynamics at work.

Coming from New Zealand we are familiar with surfing on sand dunes and wanted to see what these are like. the sand is dark not white as it comes form the mountains. the surfing is great and it is also wonderful just to hike the dunes. We arrived shortly before sundown which was amazing. There was a full moon which illuminated the dunes as if it were day. A really wonderful sight.

Medano Creek is part of the Great Sand Dunes. The Dunes are spectacular!!! Tallest sand dunes in U.S. Highly recommend.

This is by far one of the best and easiest ways to have a great day in Colorado in late Spring- just time it right and go to the Dunes when Medano creek is flowing and it's like your own little beach complete with wading pools and cool crisp flowing water. It doesn't get any more wholesome or simple than this. It's a huge area so take your gear and a cooler along with a beach umbrella and stay for the day. Can't be beat.

If you go at the right time (we went with the kids in late April), it's like a day at the beach. Water was a few feet deep max and pretty easy to navigate across.

Little Medano Creek is at the base of the Great Sand Dunes National Park. You have to walk through it to get onto the dunes. The day we were here a major rain storm came up along with thunder and lightening. The rain provided enough water to really move the water in the creek, only to slow to a trickle within an hour of the storm. It's fun to walk through it to get to the dunes. A place to cool your toes after the hot sand. The creek usually flows from early spring through mid July and then dries up. A fun place to play in the muddy/sandy water to cool off.

We traveled to the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado and went to the Little Medano Creek area, with the Sand Dunes and the Sangre De Christo Mountains framed behind it. Really enjoyed the three dimensional, Creek, Dunes, Mountains.

Once done with the sand sledding, we played at the creek. My little girl, who I will call pigpen was in her element. She immediately immersed herself in the low flowing water of the creek and got as sandy as one person could get. I'm glad I didn't overlook the swimsuits. There is a restroom in the parking lot with an outdoor changing area and outdoor showers. The water from the showers must be glacial water because its soooo cold. But it gets the job done.

This is not what I would consider an attraction. I had pictured a real creek, where my boys could splash around and have water fights or whatever, but this is just a tiny stream that was totally dry in most places. It felt nice to walk through because the sand was so hot, but it really isn't big enough to play in last weekend. It is very pretty and had we not been there in the middle of a sand storm, we might have had more fun.

We visited in early June and the creek was still running pretty well. We hiked all the way upstream from the dunes parking lot to the point where the creek becomes very rocky and starts flowing a bit faster. It was a spectacular hike. Either bring shoes that can get wet or plan on going barefoot. The water is surprisingly warm and pleasant. We saw many families and children playing all along the creek and having a blast. It is the closest thing to a beach in Colorado. Be sure to watch for surge flow. An interesting natural phenomenon that occurs in very few places in the world, Medano creek being one of them.

Our family has traveled to the Sand Dunes just about every summer for the last 25 years or so. It is our favorite vacation spot in Colorado. This creek only runs during the summertime when the snow melts from up in the mountians, then it runs down into the creek that flows around in front of the Sand Dunes. Because of its proximity to the Sand Dunes, Medano Creek is a great way to cool off those hot, sore feet from the burning sand after hiking up to the top dune, (which is over 700 feet high!). The water only gets about 5 to 6 inches deep, which makes it ideal for small children, (big kids, too), to play around in and build fun sand formations....that is, if the creek is running.Timing can be tricky. If there has been a lack of snow or rainfall for an extended period of time, the creek doesn't appear in the summertime. Almost every year that we've visited the creek it is always running. Sometimes more, sometimes less, as far as quanity. Last summer, because of the severe drought all over the state there was so sign of any water flowing from the creek, even after we hiked up the creekbed for a mile. We even dug down into the sand several inches and there was no sign of any water. Which showed how dried up it really was. Hopefully, with the snowfall they have been getting out there this year and some adequate moisture, it will begin running again.The disappointment we had last year has not affected our attachment to the Sand Dune area at all. There are numerous other activities to be enjoyed and explored in the San Luis valley.