News Release

Great Sand Dunes to Re-open the Visitor Center on October 1

Great Sand Dunes Visitor Center, an adobe-styled stucco building

NPS

News Release Date: September 28, 2020

Contact: Kathy Faz, 719-378-6341

Mosca, CO – Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve will implement part of Phase 3 of their re-opening plan on Thursday, October 1, to further increase access following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities. The park implemented Phase 1 on Wednesday, June 3, and Phase 2 on Wednesday, June 17. These phases allowed access to:

• Dunes parking area and dunefield

• Medano Pass Primitive Road, including established campsites on a first-come, first-served basis

• All trails: Mosca Pass, Montville Nature, Sand Sheet Loop, Wellington Ditch, Dunes Overlook, Sand Ramp, Medano Lake, and Music Pass

• All picnic areas: Mosca Creek, Sand Pit, and Castle Creek

• Entrance Station, including the collection of entrance fees

• Pinon Flats Campground Loop 1 and Loop 2, including restroom facilities

• Overnight backcountry access in the National Park, including the dune field and sites along the Sand Ramp Trail

This phased approach allows the park to adhere to all guidance, reduce risks to visitors and staff, and promote safe recreational opportunities. Great Sand Dunes continues to follow the State of Colorado “Level 3: Safer at Home and in the Vast, Great Outdoors” guidance and to work with county and local officials as these changes are implemented. Great Sand Dunes is in Alamosa and Saguache counties.Starting on Thursday, October 1, the park will implement part of Phase 3 and re-open access to:

• Visitor Center interior, including the public restrooms, some interior exhibits, and the Western National Parks Association (WNPA) park store.

Visitors will be allowed to access the visitor center public restrooms from 9a.m. to 4:30p.m. The interior exhibit space and WNPA park store will be open to the public from 10a.m. to 12p.m., and 1p.m. to 4:30p.m. A limited number of visitors will be allowed in the interior space at a time per CDC and agency guidance. Visitors should be prepared for a wait time and to follow safety precautions upon entering this public space. The visitor center movie room will remain closed at this time.A free backcountry permit can be obtained by calling 719-378-6348 between 9a.m. and 12p.m. or between 2p.m. and 4p.m. Permits are first-come, first-serve and cannot be reserved at this time. Permits are limited to 6 people per permit, no more than 2 vehicles per group. For more information, visitors should visit the park’s backpacking page on the park website, https://www.nps.gov/grsa/planyourvisit/backpacking.htm

The park will be going to an online backcountry permit reservation system before the end of the year. More details will be announced when the launch date is finalized.With public health in mind, the following facilities or areas remain closed until further notice:

• South Ramada group picnic site in the Mosca Creek Picnic Area

• Pinon Flats Campground Group Loop

Great Sand Dunes encourages visitors to purchase digital park entrance passes on recreation.gov at no additional cost. Once purchased, passes for Great Sand Dunes must be printed or saved on your mobile device prior to use. You may also still get entrance passes in person at the park entrance station or at Alamosa Convention and Visitors Bureau. Learn more on our Fees and Passes page: https://www.nps.gov/grsa/planyourvisit/fees.htm

Upon re-opening, business practices will continue to be put into place to ensure the safety of visitors and staff when interacting at the entrance station, campground, visitor center and public restroom facilities. When recreating, we encourage the public to follow local area health orders, practice Leave No Trace principles, avoid crowding, practice proper hand washing, avoid high-risk outdoor activities, and wear cloth face masks in crowded areas, especially in the campground and around the visitor center and restroom facilities.The health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers, and partners continues to be paramount. At Great Sand Dunes, our operational approach is to examine each facility function and service provided to ensure those operations comply with current public health guidance and will be regularly monitored. We continue to work closely with the NPS Office of Public Health using CDC guidance to ensure public facilities and staff workspaces are safe and clean for visitors, employees, partners, and volunteers.  The CDC has offered guidance to help people recreating in parks and open spaces prevent the spread of infectious diseases. We will continue to monitor all park functions to ensure that visitors adhere to CDC guidance for mitigating risks associated with the transmission of COVID-19 and take any additional steps necessary to protect public health.   Details and updates on park operations will continue to be posted on our website, www.nps.gov/grsa, and social media channels. Updates about NPS operations will be posted on www.nps.gov/coronavirus.