Transportation and Transit Plan

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (GRSA) has experienced a large visitation increase in recent years. From the late 1980s through 2015, the number of recreation visits to GRSA was relatively consistent from year to year, ranging between 250,000 and just over 300,000 annual recreation visits. In the last six years, annual recreation visits to the park have more than doubled, with a total of over 600,000 recreation visits in 2021. This increased visitation and changing patterns in visitor use are resulting in challenges that impact park natural and cultural resources, visitor experience and mobility, safety, and park facilities and operations.

Concepts to address these challenges are being developed. The concepts present approaches at six separate areas of the park: the entrance sign, the entrance station, Medano Creek Road and the existing Dunes parking lot, the Horse Trailer parking lot, and a new multi-modal trail.

The NPS is currently undergoing the initial phases of project planning. As a part of this planning, GRSA is soliciting public feedback as the project moves towards the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.

Beginning Feb. 28, 2024, the public can provide comments. Comments entered here on the PEPC website is the preferred method. To enter a comment, click on "Open for Comment" on the left side of the screen and then the document under the document list.

Comments may also be mailed or hand-delivered to: Great Sand Dunes Visitor Center, Attn: Transportation and Transit Planning, 11999 State Highway 150, Mosca, CO 81146.

The deadline to submit comments is March 29, 2024.