Medano Pass Primitive Road

Medano Pass
Great Sand Dunes to Co Hwy 69
Completed June 28, 2021

Began this trail after spending some time walking around the Great Sand Dunes National Preserve. I aired down in the parking lot at the beginning of the trailhead, immediately adjacent to the Pinion Flats Campground Area. Signs warned of Sandy conditions and recommended 20psi or less, I went down to 20.

Weather was pretty clear with no rain, however the sand was very moist so it had obviously rained recently. This led to a nice drive on the fairly compact and firmer sand, as opposed to the conditions I expected of very deep loose sand.



I would rate this trail as easy, even if the sand was loose and dry with enough maintained speed and momentum I don’t envision too many issues crossing through the deeper parts.

This trail had numerous water crossings, none of which were particularly deep, even with the recent rain. The NPS had posted a warning of hazardous conditions due to spring runoff on June 17, although by the time I ran the trail about 10 days later I didn’t encounter anything I perceived as dangerous.





The trail overall was beautiful, low stress, and easy to run. There was one spot a Ranger had warned me about, an approximately 2 foot drop after the last water crossing, that he said I may not get up. Turns out it was a 2 footish “climb” after the last water crossing that my truck didn’t even hesitate on.

The best view at the top was just shy of the top of the pass. Being that the top was still within the tree line the views weren’t great at the top.





The ride down from the pass to Hwy 69 was pretty much just a dirt road. Still good scenery but not as good as the first half.

Towards the end there’s a perfect pull off we used to air back up and then head to Salida.



Overall I would recommend this trail, the Great Sand Dunes was a very cool area, reminiscent of the dunes in southern Az.

 

thanks!

 

Thanks for Posting OP. I've never done any "real" offroading before and the 2-foot 'climb'/drop you mentioned has me a little nervous. For someone new to this type of driving (and in a 2002 SR5 4-cylinder) do you think this road is still accessible? Or go cut my teeth elsewhere.

Cheers!
Dave

 

Thanks for the report.

I'm also curious about this 2ish foot drop/climb.

was it on sand, dirt, or rock? im in a stock 2019 OR. i've been wanting to get down there soon but didn't know it was open yet.

im in colorado springs, so it would only be a day trip for me

 

Thanks. I was just there. I wanted to run up and over with my high clearance camper in tow, but ultimately decided not to try it.

 

You should be fine in your Tacoma.

 

I ran over Medano at the end of June east to west, highway air pressure and two wheel drive the whole way, nothing more than a dirt road. Easy peezy.