There are no reservations or fees for these events, but regular park entrance fees are in effect.
For the schedule of regular day and evening programs, please visit our Ranger Programs page.
The Dine' Tah Navajo Dancers at the park Amphitheater
NPS/Patrick Myers
Friday, June 20, 2025
Great Sand Dunes welcomes Shawn Price and the Dine' Tah Navajo Dancers for two special programs. These programs are free, but regular park entrance fees are in effect.
Lecture on Navajo Code Talkers
Visitor Center Auditorium, 1:30 pm
Join Navajo historian Shawn Price for a 45-minute lecture about the amazing legacy of the Navajo Code Talkers, who used their native language to help win World War 2.
Dine' Tah Navajo Dancers
Amphitheater, 6:00 pm
The Dine' Tah Navajo Dancers will present traditional dances in the outdoor amphitheater, weather permitting.
Terrance Beasley reenacts the courageous Buffalo Soldiers throughout Colorado.
Courtesy Terrance Beasley
Friday, August 1, 2025
11:00 am
Great Sand Dunes Visitor Center
There will also be a similar presentation at 11:00 am on Saturday, August 2, at Fort Garland Museum and Cultural Center, located 30 miles southeast of Great Sand Dunes.
Living History: The Life of a Buffalo Soldier
Buffalo Soldiers patrolled the Great Sand Dunes region from 1876-1879, courageously working to protect both settlers and tribes during a volatile era. Though these segregated Black units faced prejudice from many, Buffalo Soldiers served their country with honor and bravery, and were awarded more Medals of Honor than any other American military unit during that era. Retired US Army Medical Service Corps Officer Terrance Beasley will give a multimedia presentation about the Buffalo Soldiers in the Visitor Center at 11am, followed by an informal time of Q&A and interacting with a tent and other equipment that Buffalo Soldiers would have used in the San Luis Valley. The presentation is free, but regular park entrance fees are in effect.
On Saturday, August 2, Terrance will give a similar presentation at Fort Garland Museum and Cultural Center, 30 miles southeast of Great Sand Dunes in Fort Garland.
About Terrance Beasley: While serving honorably in the active military, Terrance became inspired to carry on the legacy of the valiant frontier military (which included at least one woman documented to have served) known as the Buffalo Soldiers, in which he has had an avid interest since childhood. The Buffalo Soldiers played a pivotal role in shaping the American West, yet the history of these courageous soldiers is unknown to many. Terrance has made it his mission to keep the memory of the Buffalo Soldiers alive by raising awareness of their treasured history among various groups and audiences.
A ranger leads kids in hopping across the sand like kangaroo rats at Junior Ranger Day.
NPS
Saturday, August 2, 2025
9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Dunes Parking Area
Junior Ranger Day
Join us for Junior Ranger Day! Park at the Dunes Parking Area and follow signs to the registration table to get started. There will be various stations where kids can interactively learn about the dunes, artifacts, fossils, and wildlife, and earn prizes upon completion. Stop by anytime between 9am and 1pm to participate!
This special annual event is sponsored by Friends of the Dunes, a non-profit citizen’s support group for Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. In cooperation with the National Park Service, the Friends provide a forum for citizen involvement in planning decisions, focus public interest on issues and need, and provide volunteer and financial aid for projects beyond the scope of the park’s budget. Learn more: http://www.friendsofgreatsanddunes.org/
Last year Semillas de la Tierra dancers were part of the Hispanic Heritage event. Presenters are yet to be determined for 2025.
NPS/Patrick Myers
Saturday, September 13, 2025
Late Afternoon/Evening - Times To Be Determined
Learn about and celebrate Hispanic heritage of the San Luis Valley to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month! All events this day are free, but regular park entrance fees are in effect.
'Kozmic Kyle' Doane
Courtesy Kyle Doane
(2025 Date to Be Determined)
8:45 pm - 10:30 pm
Amphitheater
Cosmic Connections with 'Kozmic Kyle'
Until modern times, every culture has looked to the skies to find their direction, set their calendar, record their stories and contemplate their place in this amazing cosmos. Rather than retelling the stories from the ancient Greek perspective, we will create new connections with the stars based on YOUR experiences. You will learn to use a monthly star map to find your new stories in the real night sky. This program is interactive and best for ages 7-Adult (but all are welcome). If you can, bring a red light and a pencil or pen for drawing on your skymap!
Regular ranger-led evening programs are posted weekly on the Ranger Programs page.
About 'Kozmic Kyle' Doane
Kozmic Kyle has been a planetarium educator for 25 years and helped set up planetarium education programs in the UK, Poland, Ghana, Kenya and many places in the US. He is especially interested in helping empower Indigenous cultures around the world to use modern planetarium tools to record, preserve and teach their own cultural knowledge in a good way. He looks forward to moving from cloudy, light polluted Seattle into the San Luis Valley's dark skies.
The Milky Way glows over a dune ridge. Moonless evenings in mid-to-late summer are the best times to see the Milky Way.
NPS/Patrick Myers
Saturday, August 23, 2025
Dark Sky Celebration
Great Sand Dunes is certified as an International Dark Sky Park. This annual event on the August new moon is an opportunity to celebrate these dark, starry skies. Details of the evening will be posted as they become available.
