Great Sand Dunes Oasis
A
Reviewed Jun. 23, 2018

Crowded and staffed by teenagers

The campground itself was ok. The views were great, the facilities were nice, clean, and extensive (they have a laundry room, restaurant, and gas pumps in addition to typical facilities), the sites could have used some maintenance though; some trees needed to be trimmed, tent sites could have used some leveling, roads needed to be scraped. While I frequently camp in, and enjoy, primitive sites with all the above issues, I don’t particularly enjoy paying $20 a night for a primitive level site in a developed campground. The campground, with at least 100 sites, was quite full when I arrived around 7:30 pm on a weekday. I stopped at the restaurant/store to enquire about camping and was told by a teenager manning the counter that it was past the security booth and then said nothing more, so I assumed I payed and got a map at the booth. After driving through the booth and realizing no one was there I continued on to find a site and set up before headIng back down to pay only to realize the store closes at 8:00. Not a big deal for me personally, but the campsite could have lost money if I weren’t an honest person due to the incompetent attitude of their staff. My suggestion is to arrive early in the day if possible and save your time and money by camping at one of the free primitive sites in the park. The morning after camping, I drove up the mountain on the primitive road and passed many empty campsites. You do need a 4 wheel drive, high clearance vehicle to reach them and need to reduce tire pressure to 20-30 psi, but the views are so worth it! (just a note: the rangers suggest filling them back up once past the sand but DON’T. It is a very rocky climb after the sand and you could easily pop a tire!) One of the rangers told me all the campsites along the mountain road are free and from a glance they looked better maintained and more comfortable than the Oasis campground! Just make sure to take water as they are truly primitive, with just a fire ring and bear locker.

  • Review photo of Great Sand Dunes Oasis by Anna T., June 23, 2018
  • Review photo of Great Sand Dunes Oasis by Anna T., June 23, 2018
  • Review photo of Great Sand Dunes Oasis by Anna T., June 23, 2018
  • Review photo of Great Sand Dunes Oasis by Anna T., June 23, 2018
  • Review photo of Great Sand Dunes Oasis by Anna T., June 23, 2018
  • Review photo of Great Sand Dunes Oasis by Anna T., June 23, 2018
  • Review photo of Great Sand Dunes Oasis by Anna T., June 23, 2018