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Northern New Mexico and The Great Sand Dunes |
Dates: (6 days, 5 nights, Sun-Fri) |
Assembly Point: |
Tour Cost: $1,895 (includes all lodging, breakfasts and dinners, support van, leaders, tour maps & narratives) |
Ours is a program predicated on exploring the incredible natural wonders preserved within the national park networks in both the U.S. and Canada. But of the many magnificent landscapes that we embrace as a part of our program, perhaps none is more startling than that offered by Great Sand Dunes National Park, America’s newest national park.
Nestled against the grand backdrop of the rugged Sangre De Cristo Mountains in southern Colorado, the dunes are the centerpiece in the surreal setting that defines the magnificence of the Rocky Mountain West. Distantly removed from any ocean or desert, the dunes present an incongruous contrast with the snowclad peaks that hover above. Created by the persistent winds that blow across the San Luis Valley, the dunes soar to an elevation of 750 feet and are the tallest dunes in North America.
In the season ahead, we’ll visit the Great Sand Dunes National Park in the context of a new 6-day hiking program that also includes the high alpine country of the Sangre De Cristos in northern New Mexico. We’ve planned two dates—a late-spring date when Medano and Sand Creeks, swollen with snowmelt from the Sangre De Cristos, flow along the dunes’ perimeter as an essential ingredient in the ecosystems of the region, and a fall program highlighting the spectacular “changing of the aspen” in the surrounding high country.
We’ll assemble in Albuquerque early morning of Day 1 and begin our van shuttle north through the San Luis Valley into Colorado. We’ll pause along the way, midway between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, for a visit to amazing Tent Rocks. We’ll hike among the striking sandstone spires (3 miles) and then resume our shuttle to Great Sand Dunes National Park.
We’ll spend our first two nights at the Sand Dunes Lodge and hike into the Sangre De Cristos the next morning. We’re headed to the summit of Mosca Pass (9,751'), a moderate hike that showcases the many life zones embraced within the park (7 miles).
We’re up at dawn on Day 3 and in the cool early morning, before breakfast, we’re off to play in the sand, if climbing the 650-foot High Dune can be characterized as playing. We’ll return to the lodge for that well-earned breakfast and then head south to Taos and a visit to the historic Taos Pueblo that afternoon. We’ll overnight at the El Pueblo Lodge in the heart of Taos.
Day 4, we’ll challenge Gold Hill, New Mexico’s third tallest peak at 12,711'. Far less traveled than nearby Wheeler Peak, Gold Hill commands views no less spectacular than Wheeler’s. Several of the mighty “fourteeners” of Colorado line the northern horizon while Wheeler looms to the south (11 miles).
On Day 5, we’re headed north of Questa to the Rio Grande Gorge Recreation Area. We’ll descend into the gorge overlooking the confluence of the Rio Grande and Red Rivers. We’ll hike to that confluence and then along the Rio Grande before climbing from the gorge to return to our trailhead (8 miles).
Following a final overnight in Taos, we’ll return to the Taos Ski Valley and hike to beautiful Williams Lake on the slopes of Mt. Wheeler (5 miles) prior to our return to Albuquerque.
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