Current Conditions of the Road

Updated November 5, 2009

Recent snows have continued to wet down the sandy section of the road, making conditions good for travel. Most high clearance 4WD vehicles should be able to make it through the sand without dropping air pressure. The lower mountain portion of the road is also in good shape, but the road is impassible approximately halfway up the pass due to snowdrifts. Only the first dozen or so of the 25 campsites along the road within the national preserve are accessible.  

Call the Visitor Center at 719-378-6399 for the latest information. 

Current Flow of Medano Creek  

From Great Sand Dunes, the Medano Pass Road crosses Medano Creek nine times on its way to Medano Pass. See the current cubic feet per second (cfs) flow of Medano Creek. This current flow chart is shown as a graph over the past month. Creek flow is normally highest at dawn, and lowest in late afternoon. Peak flow for an average season is about 35 cfs (cubic feet per second). 2009 was an average snowpack and runoff year, except for drought conditions in July and August.

Medano Creek: General Information and Current Conditions for Visitors

Call the Visitor Center at 719-378-6399 for more details and any daily changes. 

General Information on the Medano Pass Primitive Road

Part of the mountain watershed of the Great Sand Dunes, Medano Pass (pronounced MED-ah-no; in the original Spanish the accent is over the e) is a scenic backcountry route. The rugged road takes you through soft sand around the eastern side of the dunefield, up through a forested mountain canyon, then over 10,000' Medano Pass, eventually joining Highway 69 in the Wet Mountain Valley. There are numerous places to turn around on the road if a shorter trip is desired. A high-clearance 4-wheel drive, full-size SUV, truck, or Jeep is required. Low wagons, mini-SUVs, or all-wheel drive vehicles will get stuck in sand. All vehicles and drivers must be street-licensed to drive in Colorado; off-road vehicles and motorcycles are not permitted.

The road includes soft sand for about 2 miles, 9 creek crossings that may be deep in late spring, and a rocky roadbed near the summit of the pass. If sand becomes soft during dry times, dropping tire air pressure to about 20 pounds may be necessary. Full tire pressure is required to drive over rocks higher on the pass, so if you do drop pressure, you will need to either 1) have your own air compressor to refill before going higher on the pass, or 2) drive the road from east to west, and reduce pressure after going over the pass but before driving through the soft sand. A free air compressor is available at the western entrance to the road in the national park.

The Medano Pass Road is not a shortcut to save time. Driving speed averages 5-10 mph. Plan on 2 1/2 to 3 hours to drive the entire 22 mile road. The road's eastern entrance is in Custer County; the closest town to the eastern entrance is Westcliffe.

Click on the view map rectangle at upper left to see the official park map with zoom-in capability. This map shows the Medano Pass Primitive Road's route through the park and preserve. An area map of the Medano Pass Primitive Road showing regional towns and highways is also available. 

Medano Road Camping Information

Roadside camping is permitted only at 25 marked, numbered campsites in Great Sand Dunes National Preserve (part of the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness, beginning 5.2 miles from where the pavement ends in the National Park). These sites are indicated with a brown post and camping symbol, and are numbered by approximate road mileage from the Park/Preserve boundary to Medano Pass. Numbers in parentheses are approximate road mileage from Medano Pass down to the Preserve/Park boundary. Roadside car camping is not permitted in the national park other than the developed campsites in Pinyon Flats Campground.

These designated sites are free of charge and first-come, first-served. All 25 sites fill on summer holiday weekends, and occasionally on other weekends.

Please follow all regulations for camping in these sites (.pdf file, 72kb), to protect the natural enviroment for present and future generations.

Campsite locations are listed below. Each location has one fire ring. Please do not build additional fire pits.

Uphill Mileage (Downhill Mileage)

0.0            (6.0)         3 sites

0.1            (5.9)         2 sites

0.2            (5.8)         1 site

0.3            (5.7)         1 site

0.7            (5.4)         1 site

0.9            (5.2)         1 site

1.2            (5.8)         1 site

1.6            (5.4)         1 site

1.8            (4.3)         1 site

2.1            (4.1)         1 site

2.2            (4.0)         1 site

2.3            (3.9)         1 site

2.5            (3.5)         1 site

3.2            (2.8)         1 site

3.4            (2.6)         1 site

3.5            (2.4)         1 site

4.3            (1.7)         1 site

4.8            (1.2)         1 site

5.1            (0.8)         1 site

5.6            (0.7)         1 site

5.7            (0.6)         1 site

5.8            (0.3)         1 site