Great Sand Dunes National Park Availability

[acsimon]

Planning a short stay at the Great Sand Dunes National Park around the 18th of April I noticed that during this period the National Park campground (Pinon Flats) only has "walkup availability". No reservable sites. Wondering if anyone has any comment about the chances of getting a site for a late afternoon arrival?

[mosseater]

We stayed at Alamosa KOA and while it's just a grassy parking lot, there are nice folks running it. Least, there were in '08. We hit the Dunes on the way through the next day. Really is a remarkable site.

[RAS43]

IDman wrote:
Normally, when a Colorado website says walkup only, it means the CG doesn't have any service open yet, such as water, toilets, trash removal.

Not necessarily. When checking on Colorado State's park website for a campground I find that walk-up only means that no reservations are being taken but all services may be available. This usually occurs in fall when the crowds are gone before the park begins shutting down but could also happen in the spring.

[MWJones]

If all else fails, there is a nice little FHU RV Park - Blanco RV Park - in "downtown" Blanco on HWY 160 west just a short distance from the road that goes to Sand Dunes off 160. Open year round.
It is a PA park (1/2 price if member).
Visit the old fort at Fort Garland. 4 miles east of Blanco. Very interesting.

[Veebyes]

Early season or late season when reservations are not available is a good indication that the CG, wherever it is, is nowhere near capacity.

[2gypsies1]

Here's the campground site. Note that it states Loop 1 is first come April through October. Loop 2 is reservable only May 8 through Sept 2.

I doubt there would be many campers during April so reservations aren't needed.

Great Sand Dunes NP Camping

[Thom02099]

rv2go wrote:
When we visited, we could not get a site inside the Park.
We stayed just outside the gate at Great Sand Dunes Oasis.

This is a very doable alternative, with full hookups available; Pinon Flats CG inside the NP has no hookups. There's 2 loops there inside the NP, one is always first come/first served (Loop 1) and Loop2 has reserved sites. The season for both starts on April 1, my guess is it won't be overly busy at Pinon Flats in the park in April, especially if you arrive during the week. Stayed many years ago at Great Sand Dunes Oasis, sites are nice, but the one thing that sticks out in my mind about that experience was the horrific black flies in the area! As I recall, we were there in the spring, so keep that in mind for that entire area there, and be prepared!

[IDman]

The CG is probably not open at that time of year because of weather. Normally, when a Colorado website says walkup only, it means the CG doesn't have any service open yet, such as water, toilets, trash removal. You can stay there IF the weather is okay and you don't expect any service.

[D_E_Bishop]

I really don't know why you need reservations that time of year. We were there last April and it was snowing so hard in Alamosa that we returned to the Alamosa KOA and tried Wolf Pass the next day. The day before it was cooool but sunny and the dunes were fun. Even though it has been dry, the weather is changeable that time of year.

[rv2go]

When we visited, we could not get a site inside the Park.
We stayed just outside the gate at Great Sand Dunes Oasis.

[dahkota]

If you can't get a site there, San Luis State Park is right around the corner (so to speak) and even has some sites with views of the sand dunes. The sites there are much larger and more spread out than GSD and include electric hook-ups.
http://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/Parks/Sanluis