Sand Dunes

Brems · Post by **Brems** » Feb 01 2002 5:00 am

:? Does anybody know of any good places to go backpacking in sand dunes? Kind of a goofy question, but I have got the jones to hake accross some dunes before summer. (If you know of any that allow open-fires, that would be preferred). Thanks!!!

-Brems

ck_1 · Post by **ck_1** » Feb 01 2002 5:00 am

Well, Death Valley comes to mind first. There are miles of sand dunes within the Death Valley area. Although I'd get there fast, as the temps are going to skyrocket soon...

evenstarx3 · Post by **evenstarx3** » Feb 01 2002 5:00 am

Imperial Sand dunes Recreational Area in California. Take I-10 to Blythe and then Hwy 78. If you have a good map of CA you can probably see it. I passed through it on the way to Salton Sea less than two weeks ago and was amazed. Just pure sand for miles......lots of RV's parked off road and dune buggies.

montezumawell · Post by **montezumawell** » Feb 01 2002 5:00 am

Well, Death Valley is superb and those Lower California dunes are way cool, too. But, wait, there's a sleeper dune field you may have overlooked: The Coral Pink Sand Dunes in SW Utah. In fact, most of them are managed by Utah State Parks and, to a lesser degree by Everybody's Fav-o-rite Agency: The BLM. They are microscopic compared to the Imperial and Death Valley dunes. But they have some distinct advantages: A) There's no one there right now. The ATV crowd doesn't show up until it gets warm. They are all over in Nevada or down in Imerial themselves right now. B) Look at a map and see what's like RIGHT next door to them. Zion ring a bell? Bryce? Marble Canyon on the way? Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument? Although Utah State Parks allows ATV usage on the bulk of the dunes, it's not like it is in the wild and wooly dunes of California and Sonora, Mexico. Also, they have set aside a few hundred acres where ATV's can't go or their lose their rigs and pay huge fines. Believe me, this time of year, the place is a ghost town! I'd bet if you went during the week, you might not see another person besides the park people. I doubt you could say that for some of the other, better known, dune fields. Good luck and let us know how it turned out. Oh, yeah, if you want to drive a really long ways there's a kick butt dune field in SW Colorado. Real famous. I've read a lot about it and ogled the pictures for years but I can never remember its name. Happy Trails.

J&S in RR

Lizard · Post by **Lizard** » Feb 01 2002 5:00 am

The name of the sand dunes in Colorado is Great Sand Dunes Nat'l Monument and Wilderness. If you want to hike in sand dunes this would be one of the best choices. Most areas with sand dunes, including the Imperial Sand Dunes, are overrun with ATVs and ORVs, which make for unpleasant hiking to say the least. No motorized vehicles are allowed in the Colorado monument. Also, the monument has the largest sand dune in America at 750 ft tall, and the area is wildly scenic being located beneath the Sangre De Cristo Range. For information call (719) 378-2312.

Another option would be White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. No ORVs are allowed in this area either. The overall area is smaller, which limits backpacking, and the dunes are not as big, but this monument does have its own charms. Its closer to Arizona as well. For information call (505) 479-6124.

Lizard

Lizard · Post by **Lizard** » Feb 01 2002 5:00 am

I also found this article:

http://www.backpacker.com/destinations/ ... 87,00.html

Lizard

Nighthiker · Post by **Nighthiker** » Feb 01 2002 5:00 am

Hot Well Dunes Recreation Area southeast of Safford offers apx. 2000 acrea of sand dunes. This is a ohv rec area but it does not get much traffic during the week. This area also offers developed tent/rv camp sites (not many though) and numerous undeveloped camping sites. Another feature/ attraction is the hot tubs. Campfires are allowed, dead and dow wood only. For more information contact the BLM, Safford Field Office at 520-428-4040.

Cakewalk · Post by **Cakewalk** » Feb 01 2002 5:00 am

I agree with Hoolie... The imperial sand dunes are amazing and only a few hours away. Hiking is allowed. The last time I was there, there were some people but not a lot. They shot the desert scenes from star wars there. Pretty cool..

Check it out:
http://www.desertusa.com/sandhills/sandhills.html

Angela · Post by **Angela** » Feb 01 2002 5:00 am

Wow, what an idea! I have involuntarily hiked up or down a sand dune after trying to rescue friends who's ATVs are stuck in the sand. It makes for tough walking, as sometimes it's one step up, two steps back on the way up. Of course, it's difficult to hike in motocross boots. When you are done, be prepared for major sand in the boots! I would highly recommend not visiting the Imperial Sand Dunes on a holiday weekend. Even I'm a little leery during the holiday events but it surely is a sight to see. During a regular workweek day in the winter months it shouldn't be too busy from my experience. But even then, I don't think that I would venture out too far. I have been in the area of the Sand Dunes in Utah but didn't get a chance to stop. I would like to see them someday.

Cakewalk · Post by **Cakewalk** » Feb 01 2002 5:00 am

You've seen the movies, of people walking across vast expanses of sand.

You would never think that you could actually experience such a thing.

If you go to imperial dunes and turn your back to the road, walk a few hundred yards into the sand field... Your there....

It is a sight to behold! Im going back this summer with a friend from ND. I cant wait!

olesma · Post by **olesma** » Mar 13 2002 10:27 am

I have to go along with Montazumawell. The coral dunes in S. Utah are spectacular and the terrain around them is unbelievable. The quick jaunt into Zion is also well worth an extra night stay if you can do it. Just a neat area over there. Plus it's a beautiful drive up there.

Another little side trip along the way is of course the upper and lower Antelope canyon in the Lake Powel area - a hike that I am just dying to do sometime this summer.

montezumawell · Post by **montezumawell** » Mar 20 2002 5:59 pm

Hey, thanks for the 'second' olesma, you are 'right on!' We have been thinking about this 'dune' topic ever since it started. And we began to wonder just what's going on with the Coral Pinks at this time, so we drove up there yesterday. Awesome! We got to the Ponderosa Grove BLM CG a little before sundown, chowed and bedded down. Spent most of the morning today roaming around those awesome dunes. No people in the CG. Heard 3 cars on the paved road. Saw no one or no dune buggies, etc. on the dunes. The recent snow left just enough 'powdered sugar' on those pink dunes to make them even more spectacular. A couple of the tall dunes had little mini snow cornices on them. Maybe those cornices were 8-12 inches deep. Definitely mini but they exhibited the geometry of much larger cornices. We had an absolute ball and got so purposely lost we had to fire up the GPS to find our way back to the CG. It was GREAT! Definitely, other worldly stuff. Got to thinking that these dunes can't be more than 8-10 airline miles from the stateline so they are ALMOST an Arizona Hike. We're in Panguitch right now and will go over to the SP on the way home and ask a lot of techie questions about size of the park, BLM holdings, etc. and post up later. In the meantime, we wish to thank everyone on this list for 'firing us up' for a trip to the Coral Pinks!

J&S in RR

PS--it only got down to 23 last night at 6,300 feet. No wind. No prob.

BoyNhisDog · Post by **BoyNhisDog** » Mar 20 2002 6:46 pm

Now I want to go back to the Coral Pinks. That is one of the most memorable places that I have been and it was a long time ago. Great trip J&S.

Sand Dunes

Sand Dunes

Get your dinks in the Coral Pinks

Coral dunes

Thanks!