Pinon Flats Campground

Spent a couple nights here at this quaint campground nestled against the hills in Great Sand Dunes NP. Our site was an easy walk to the dunes and a beautiful view of the night sky. The entire campground is reservation only and they book up quickly, so get your site squared away before peak season. Also know that while the sites are spaced reasonably enough apart, the campground itself is not particularly roomy, so avoid if you have a larger motorhome or 5th wheel. Lastly, we stayed in early April and the dump station was not yet open, so be aware if you come early in the season. Otherwise, the early season can be fantastic for spending time in the dunes before they get hot!

I do want to say that the views are wonderful from most camp sites we saw. Our site 40 supposedly had a 30 ft pad. We have a camper trailer just over 23 ft so it should have been no problem, but it was a big problem. No way was it 30 ft and while the width was fine, the length was not and backing it in meant going the wrong way on a one way path-more on that later. We did get it in place. We watched other camper trailers with the same issue-pretty consistently trailers had to go the wrong way on the one way road in order to get the correct angle to position their trailers. When we left we needed to reverse the process, so had to go the wrong way on the one way road. Then the ranger came through. She told us we needed to back up and go the right way (we were less than 50 yards from the intersection. She repeatedly berated us for endangering others by going the wrong way. There was no space to do the turn around maneuver she was expecting us to do. After 10 minutes of discussing she relented and let us go through. It really was unpleasant. This is the first truly negative review I have written. At 23 ft, we are not the largest trailer but positioning was difficult. They need to accurately describe their sites and find a way to have a wider area that could be a turn out.
However, the views were nice.

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.