National Park·Colorado·104,902 acres
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET
Higher ground turns first, so the slopes above the road lead the valley by a few days.
Weather Hard frost Wednesday night. Peak may come early and go fast.
No new reports from the ground here this week.
When is peak fall foliage at Great Sand Dunes National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Great Sand Dunes National Park around Oct 13, and the four days to aim for are Oct 12 to 15.
The park runs from about 7,546 to 8,687 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 12 days: the high stands around Oct 6, the low ground around Oct 12. That's 4 days later than our model alone would say, because this September has been running warm.
| Week | In the park | Elevation at peak |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 21 to Sep 27 | Starting to turn | |
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Starting to turn | |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Nearly peak | 8,000 to 8,500 ft, 8,500 to 9,000 ft |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Peak color | 7,500 to 8,000 ft |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Just past peak |
- 8,500–9,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 66%
- 8,000–8,500 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 816%
- 7,500–8,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1275%
Height off 3DEP inside the park’s own boundary; each band carries the date our model gives that elevation, corrections and all. The percentage is how much of the park stands in it.
That’s 4 days later than our model alone would say. This September has been running warm, which shifts peak color.
The place
The tallest dunes in North America, 750 feet high, covering 30 square miles in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado. They look Photoshopped against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains behind them. You hike barefoot up the ridgelines and slide back down, and it feels like you left the country without a passport.
Established 2004. About 438,000/year visitors.
If you can only come on certain days
Set the days you can be here. Everything under them answers for those days, not for peak.
Monday, October 12 to Tuesday, October 13
You’ll find it just past peak up high, peak color lower down.
Up at 8,000 feet the stands peak around Oct 8; down at 8,000 feet they hold on until about Oct 12. Pick your elevation for the day you come.
- 8,000–8,500 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 8
- 7,500–8,000 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 12
- Where to drive
- Highway of Legends (CO 12), about 48 miles · Wolf Creek Pass (US 160), about 67 miles · Cumbres and La Manga passes (CO 17), about 69 miles
- What turns
- narrowleaf cottonwood, quaking aspen, willow, thinleaf alder, water birch
- Entrance
- $25
What turns, and when
- narrowleaf cottonwood31%
- quaking aspen24%
- willow21%
- thinleaf alder10%
- water birch10%
- Gambel oak3%
Also named across Colorado, outside what the canopy read measures here: Rocky Mountain Maple.
Colorado aspens are the main event, turning entire mountainsides gold and amber while Gambel oaks add russet and orange at lower elevations and cottonwoods line the rivers in yellow.
Questions people ask about Great Sand Dunes National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Great Sand Dunes National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Great Sand Dunes National Park around Oct 13, and the four days to aim for are Oct 12 to 15.
- Where is the best fall color at Great Sand Dunes National Park right now?
On Nov 10 the park is leaves down. The last band to peak was 7,500 to 8,000 feet, around Oct 12.
- How long does peak last at Great Sand Dunes National Park?
About four days at the top, Oct 12 to 15, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the park's elevations the color moves over about 12 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 16 days.
- Is Great Sand Dunes National Park past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Oct 13, and on Nov 10 it's leaves down.
- What trees turn color at Great Sand Dunes National Park?
Quaking Aspen, Narrowleaf Cottonwood, Gambel Oak, Rocky Mountain Maple, Alder. Colorado aspens are the main event, turning entire mountainsides gold and amber while Gambel oaks add russet and orange at lower elevations and cottonwoods line the rivers in yellow.
- Is there an entrance fee at Great Sand Dunes National Park?
Entrance fee $25.
This forecast is built from the species that stand here, their elevation and this September’s weather, and corrected in season by cameras, foresters and our own crew. Out here we score it against NASA's satellite record of when the canopy shuts down, read inside each unit’s own boundary: two dates in three land within 12 days of it. How this map is made
Nearby, and when they turn
Spanish Peaks Wilderness and Rio Grande are on the map above, with their own date.
- Peak Oct 5 best Oct 4 to 7
- Peak Oct 15 best Oct 14 to 17
- Peak Oct 4 best Oct 3 to 6
- Peak Oct 7 best Oct 6 to 9
Fall color roads near Great Sand Dunes National Park
Nearest first. Distances are straight-line from the park, so allow more by road.
- Highway of Legends (CO 12)
Trinidad to La Veta around the Spanish Peaks, aspen up high and Gambel oak below.
- Wolf Creek Pass (US 160)
South Fork to Pagosa Springs, aspen on the west side of the pass.
- Cumbres and La Manga passes (CO 17)
Antonito to Chama through the Conejos aspen, with the narrow-gauge train doing the same route.
- Enchanted Circle (NM 38, 522 and 64)
Taos, Questa, Red River, Eagle Nest and Angel Fire, aspen on the Sangre de Cristo the whole loop.
- Cottonwood Pass (CO 306)
Buena Vista to Taylor Park, with the aspen on the east side of the pass.
- Independence Pass (CO 82)
Aspen to Twin Lakes up the Roaring Fork. The pass closes for the winter around the first of November.