Visitor Center Area Loop

This is about as gentle as hiking gets in a national park — a flat half-mile loop that starts right outside the visitor center and winds through the high desert scrubland at the base of the dunes. The path is packed dirt and gravel, easy underfoot, with interpretive signs scattered along the way that explain the unlikely geology of a massive sand sea sitting at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. You'll get postcard views of the dunes without having to slog through them, and on a clear day the snowcapped peaks behind the sand create one of the most surreal backdrops in the park system. The loop is perfect for stretching your legs after the drive in, getting your bearings before tackling the dunes themselves, or for anyone who wants to experience Great Sand Dunes without sand in their shoes.