Pinon Flats Campground

Pinon Flats is a beautiful campground that's fit in well to the scenery. Site 140 has an outstanding view of the dunes and one can watch the light change as the sun sets behind them. Backing in my trailer was tricky with the odd angle and narrow, one- way road, but I got lucky and was able to do it alone despite being new to the process. Magnificent star show is the spectacle after dark in this dark sky park. The campground was busy, but didn't feel crowded. Wildlife was abundant- bear boxes provided.

We arrived Great Sand Dune NP around noon time, there was a sign by the park entrance says campground full, we checked with Recreation.gov shows there are a few available for tonight, we booked with APP for site 59, it is described a RV site, but when we arrived the site, we found the site has a very narrow and side slope parking, it should be a tent site, not good for any RV, trailer or even truck camper like us.

As prior reviewers have stated, these spots are snug - we saw one person struggle (in the rain, in the dark) to fit their trailer in and in the end give up and leave. Most are not super level, either. That said, given the remote location of the park, staying here can't be beat for ease of access. Many sites have excellent views of the dunes & mountains - 63 through 71 for sure. We had 7 deer come visit as we were setting up! Running water, clean flush toilets, no showers and, a little oddly, no soap in the bathrooms. Camp store on site seasonally selling firewood, starters, some food and treats.

Overall a wonderful experience! We would definitely stay here again. Bathrooms were clean, water was near the site, and the Dunes are so much fun! Two reasons for the 4 stars instead of 5. 1) the sites are so close to each other. The site next to us had about 8 people at it and they were so loud the entire time. 2) the bear boxes really need to be sprayed for spiders. We had 4 spiders (that we saw) and 2 spider egg nests in our bear box. Idk why they think I’d put my food in there 🤢.

We visited in late April and the temperature was in the high 50’s during the day. That made hiking on the dunes pleasant. You can get onto the dunes from camp, which is really nice. The hike to High Dune is challenging and rewarding. It did get pretty windy and the sites closest to the dunes have little to protect them from the wind. We stayed in site 86 and we did have relief from the wind and still had great views of the dunes and surrounding mountains. AT&T worked great at camp and we had two bars of Verizon also.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.