Piñon Flats Campground

We loved this campground! Not only was it convenient to camp steps away from the dunes, but we also managed to grab a spot with amazing views. The sites are well spaced here, but not overly large, and definitely not big rig friendly. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon and easily found a site big enough for our 25' trailer. It was after Labor Day though, and I suspect the campground is much busier during the summer. The campground offers easy access to a number of hiking trails and is not far form the NP visitor center. The Great Sand Dunes are fairly remote, so be sure to stock up on supplies before visiting.

We camped here in July 2014 in our pop-up tent camper. The campground was full during our one night stay. I had reserved online ahead of time otherwise we wouldn't have found a site. The only problem is that I chose the most un-level site in the campground, or so my husband believes. The pad was paved so there wasn't an option to change the topography of the site by digging a wheel in like you aren't supposed to do. :-) I really think this was a fluke with site 65. There were some cool things about the campground.

The restrooms were nice and clean. There is a sink for doing dishes outside the restroom. Campsites had bear boxes for food. Our campsite had low a low rock retaining wall around it. The rock wall had seats built into it which the kids thought were cool.

The kids (aged 9 & 11) had mixed reactions to the dunes. The night we arrived we climbed some and attempted to slide down on beach boogie boards. This was not the way to go at all. We later found out that a nearby place rents better boards for surfing down the dunes. Ask at the visitors center and they will direct you to the place. We also ended the evening with a kid in tears due to blowing sand in his eyes.

During the night a wild thunderstorm raged through the valley and the next morning there was water running in front of the dunes. The kids liked building sand dams in the water and diverting it to where they wanted.

The Visitors Center was nice.

I would definitely stay here again. Not sure about the rest of the family, once may have been enough for them.

They have two main loops, one that accepts reservations ahead of time and another that is on a first come first serve basis. The campground fills up quickly including first come first serve, I would recommend arriving before 10am to find a walk up site. The campground is right next to the sand dunes which makes for wonderful views and an easy walk or drive to explore the area. Another popular activity nearby is the Zapata Falls hike.

Great Sand Dunes is not a large park, as far as what you can drive. This gangster of a gem is right in the belt loop of it all.

Even as the wind blew rancor fierce to flatten my fire and scare my family inside of our van, even as the sands of time whipped dull the bump of my pupils, even as the spots were not exactly spacious, I watched as the sun set slow over the combination of scrubby valley, sand dunes and snow capped mountains that paint a jealous DaVinci all the evening long.

One of our favorite national parks, and being able to live right in the thick of it makes it all the more worthwhile.

Also get out a composition notebook so you can jot a few more things down:

1. Get here early. Skip the visitor's center. You just go to the campground, look for an empty spot that doesn't have a little yellow tag on the post, and if those conditions apply, it's available. Park and pay at the front of the campground.

2. Spots with the best views of the dunes and mountains are ridiculously windy, when the wind does choose to blow down the mountain (and it always does, I believe). Inner loop spots are less spacious, but you'll be able to hang around your campfire without worrying about burning down the park.

3. No showers or hookups.

4. While we occassionally had a few bars of cell, it rarely worked well enough to do anything more than eek out a text message or two. I marked down 2 bars AT&T, which was the max on my wife's phone, but my phone almost always was playing the no service / searching rap-a-thon on me.

Toots!

We arrived a little after noon on a weekday in late June and got the last spot in the first come first serve loop that would fit our motorhome. The mosquitoes were not too bad at first but got progressively worse later in the day. We were fortunate to have a nice view of the dunes from our site. It took two bags of blocks to get level. Very nice visitor center with a nature trail out the back door. There was no evening ranger program the night we were there. Rate reflects senior discount.

If you're tent camping this a great campground and easy to find a site, but with a trailer it's a challenge. The sites are small and not intended for trailers, but there are quite a few sites you can fit into. If you're coming for the first come first serve, get here around 9-10am any day of the week in the summer or you will be out of luck. Free dump station with potable water, trash, recycling, toilets. Cell service is okay, in the morning it's snappy at 3gb/s, slows down over the day and gets really slow at night, not reliable for work. Verizon is the best bet, AT&T and T-Mobile are hit and miss depending on your site.

This was our first visit to the park in almost 30 years, and our first time camping there. We arrived in the middle of the week (late April) before reservations were accepted, so all of the sites were 'first come-first served'. The campground was not very crowded, and after reconnoitering both loops, we decided on site 01 because it was oriented such that we would have a nice view to the west (towards the dunes) out of our dinette window and our awning covered area would be to the east and protected if it got windy. This site worked out very well for us, as it did get windy on day 2, and stayed that way until we left. As others have already indicated, this campground is mostly suited for tent camping and small rigs - with very few sites large enough for anything much over 26'. Perhaps half of the 88 sites would work for trailers or RV's under 26', with the rest being tent sites. During our stay we watched several big rigs come through looking for a spot, only to leave a short time later. The most notable aspect of the campground is the QUIET (as it is very remote). The other is the scenery - especially in the evening when the sun is low in the west and casting shadows over the sand dunes. There are a number of hiking trails, including crossing Mandano Creek and climbing the dunes. The restrooms were very clean with flush toilets, and dish washing facilities outside. Overall, this is one of the most enjoyable campgrounds that we have stayed in. The $10 nightly rate reflects our 'old geezer' discount, and we camped in a 21' travel trailer.

Gotta love National Parks when you’re old. Free admission and half-price camping!

Be aware if you are tent camping, these sites are amazing, even a pop-up trailer. However, if you are in anything bigger than a B Class RV or pulling a trailer bigger than 20’ it could be challenging. I am average to good with my trailer backing skills and got in relatively easily. However, another trailer, about 26’, stopped traffic for over 20 minutes trying to get in his site. To get in most sites your tow vehicle will block the road as you park so you have to then situate the tow vehicle across in front or beside your trailer.

If you have dogs watch for cactus, everywhere! Also, lots of pine cones for the dogs to eat (they are toxic to most dogs, we are told).

Overall, great place and a short hike to the dunes. Super-clean restrooms. Sites are large and nicely separated. We were very surprised when we got there in early October on a Thursday and got one of a very few remaining sites. By dark the park was full to the brim.

I will preface this review with the statement that I love national park campgrounds. I realize that some people find them a little too basic, but our family really enjoys being right inside the park with access to the activities and rangers. This particular campsite might arguably be the best one in the park. It backed up to a field with gorgeous views of the mountains and sand dunes. It had plenty of space and privacy and was long enough to keep our vehicle attached overnight. The only drawback was that the mosquitoes were horrendous after dusk. But, you can see from the pictures just how gorgeous the setting is, making it all worth it! It was slightly noisy when the 4x4 vehicles went out for joyrides behind our site.

The staff is doing a great job of keeping people safe here in the park.
Our site 86 has a good view and nice level spot. There are many sites with even better views. The cell service is hit or miss with AT&T and better with my Verizon Mifi. The visitor center is closed but they have a window in the back where you can purchase an assortment of NPS gear and they are handing out pre stamped passport stamp stickers. Nice job @Great Sand Dunes and @NPS. We will be back.