NPS - National Park Service

04/18/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/18/2024 10:11

National Park Week at Great Sand Dunes

National Park Week starts this Saturday, April 20! Each day has a different theme to highlight various aspects of Great Sand Dunes and the National Park Service as a whole:

  • Saturday, April 20 - DISCOVERY: Entrance fees are waived all day at National Park Service sites across the US, so you can discover your national parks! Join a ranger at 10 am for a short walk into the dunes to discover their geologic origins and some unique creature adaptations to survive this extreme environment! Meet at the Dunes Parking Lot.

  • Sunday, April 21 - VOLUNTEERS: A crew from @Visit Alamosa will be volunteering to clean and prepare the outdoor amphitheater in advance of the 2024 summer season.

  • Monday, April 22 - EARTH DAY: Stop by the visitor center at 1:30 for a short ranger program about the ways people have lived with and protected the resources around the dunes for millennia. And watch for a social media post about the way Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve protects elements of the entire geological system of the dunefield.

  • Tuesday, April 23 - INNOVATION: Stop by the visitor center at 1:30 for a short ranger program about the innovative tools and devices people have made here for millennia.

  • Wednesday, April 24 - WORKFORCE WEDNESDAY: Watch for our social media post highlighting a few Great Sand Dunes staff members!

  • Thursday, April 25 - YOUTH ENGAGEMENT: Great Sand Dunes engages youth through programs for schools, local libraries, the Alamosa Boys and Girls Club, internship programs through Conservation Legacy, and Youth Archeology Camps. Watch for a social media post highlighting our current Conservation Legacy intern.

  • Friday, April 26 - COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS: This is also Arbor Day, a day set aside to celebrate and care for trees. Watch for our social media post about some of the unique trees at Great Sand Dunes! Arbor Day was founded as a way for communities to learn about and plant trees. But long before Arbor Day, Indigenous people have been peeling trees at Great Sand Dunes, carefully extracting the inner bark for food and medicine without killing the tree.

  • Saturday, April 27 - NATIONAL JUNIOR RANGER DAY: Stop by the visitor center throughout the day for a touch table of cool fossils, artifacts, and natural objects, and pick up a variety of Junior Ranger booklets - Great Sand Dunes Junior Ranger, Night Explorer, Wilderness Explorer, Eclipse Explorer, and Bat Explorer, to earn special badges or patches! Our Great Sand Dunes Junior Ranger Day will be on Saturday, August 10.

  • Sunday, April 28 - ARTS IN PARKS: Join a park ranger for a time of sketching and creating! Materials provided. Visitor center, 1:30 pm.