Colorado is known for its magnificent vistas. When most imagine what they will see they envision the Rocky Mountains and a never-ending view of trees and greenery. Lightweight travel trailers visiting the state will see this, and it is magnificent. The state offers 13 National Parks, 1,415 National Register of Historic Places listings, 3 National Heritage Areas, 12 National Natural Landmarks, and 22 National Historic Landmarks. There were 5,805,431 visitors to National Parks in Colorado in 2011 alone. RV visitors looking forward to amazing views and gorgeous scenery will not be disappointed.

The featured National Park, Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, offers something a little bit unexpected to the Colorado RV visitor. Instead of experiencing the Rocky Mountains or the Rio Grande River, visitors who stop their lightweight travel trailers at the Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve will find that they get to experience mountains of sand. There is nowhere in the United States where mountains of sand stand taller than they do in the park. The tallest dune is a towering 750 feet high at an elevation of 8,700 feet above sea level. The field of sand dunes is located near the town of Alamose and encompasses 30 square miles within the 150,000-acre park.

After experiencing the wonder of the sand dunes, park visitors can enjoy a number of hiking opportunities as well as four-wheel-driving along the challenging Medano Pass trail. This off-road route runs approximately 25 miles from the interior of the park to the nearby town of Gardner. Regardless of where RVers are headed next or what they’ve already checked off their list since arriving in the wondrous state of Colorado, there is one thing they must do prior to leaving the Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Every park visitor should take the unique opportunity to ski, snowboard, or sled down the dunes just as they would on any of the Colorado ski slopes.  Interested parties simply need to look around and identify a steep area, position themselves at the top and point themselves down it. Gravity will do most of the work.