Photographing the Fall Colors of Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Park
Colorado fall colors.
What did you first think of after reading the above sentence? If a sea of aspens with joyous white trunks and golden leaves sprawled out below a snowcapped mountain range came to mind, then you’re in good company, as that’s what my first impression of autumn in Colorado was, and precisely what drew me to drive 2,000 miles to experience a different flavor of fall than the bright maple trees and mist-shrouded ponds of New York and New England that have become familiar companions for me each fall.
Whenever I'm on an extended road trip, I like to try to work interesting and photogenic stops into the itinerary when I’m driving to and from my primary destination to make the most of my days on the road, and after two weeks of exploring and photographing the aspen forests of the West Elk and Cimarron Mountains (much more to come from this part of the trip in the coming months!), I discovered a completely unexpected – perhaps even unusual - perspective of fall in Colorado during a one-night layover in Great Sand Dunes National Park.
After snagging a campsite at the Piñon Flats Campground - which thankfully open despite the government shutdown that impacted the National Parks in the fall of 2025 - and wolfing down some ramen noodles, it was time to get out and explore. I didn’t end up making it very far, because just a couple of miles from the campground, I began to see pockets of beautiful cottonwood trees showing off their yellow-orange foliage. The juxtaposition of colorful trees, the craggy summits of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and the tallest sand dunes in North America formed a symphony of autumn that was unlike any landscape I’d ever seen before. I was ecstatic, and began to methodically scan the horizon using my telephoto lens, looking for intriguing compositions. Once I found a lone cottonwood tree at the edge of the dunes, I knew what I would primarily be pointing my camera at the rest of the evening!
Evening light shines on a lone cottonwood tree displaying golden fall foliage at the edge of the expansive dune fields of Colorado's Great Sand Dunes National Park. I loved how the cool blue tones of the dunes balanced the warmth of the cottonwoods during the fleeting moment that's captured here.
As the afternoon passed and the sun sunk ever lower, I began to get the feeling that it could be a special sunset. Puffy clouds began to gently hang in the sky above the mountains, and gusts of wind would periodically send billowing plumes of sand off the dunes, adding a sense of dynamism to the scene.
A beautiful, lone cottonwood tree at the edge of the sand dunes in Colorado's Great Sand Dunes National Park gazes out at the dunes and mountains. On this unforgettable October day, I spent hours photographing this tree under variable conditions, and loved how the tip of the dune at the top of the frame was illuminated by the evening light, as the autumn breeze softly blew sand from the dune in the midground.
When the setting sun crept to the horizon, the sky caught fire and beautifully complemented my muse for the evening, the equally colorful lone cottonwood.
The towering Sangre de Cristo Mountains, sensuous sand dunes, fall foliage, and a beautiful sunset combined to form a triumphant end to an incredible autumn road trip in Colorado. After two weeks spent photographing the aspen trees which Colorado is famous for during the autumn season, I was delighted to discover that the fall foliage in this incredible state extends far beyond its otherworldly aspen forests.
This wasn’t the only cottonwood tree near the dunes, though, as a row of cottonwoods at the High Dune Loop Trailhead beautifully framed the dunes with the spectacular sunset sky.
Fall foliage and a dramatic sunset frame the beautiful sand dunes of Colorado's Great Sand Dunes National Park. Look closely and you'll see a pair of hikers on the dune ridge in the background.
Once the sun had set and the color began to fade from the sky, I lingered before hopping into my dusty and dirty Land Cruiser and reflected on my Colorado road trip. Even though it was the aspens that drew me to Colorado, the cottonwoods of Great Sand Dunes National Park turned out to be an incredible, equally beautiful surprise, and immediately became one of my absolute favorite subjects of my road trip. At some point during my internal reflecting, I noticed that while the sky was growing ever darker, it was getting colorful again, even though the sun had set a half hour ago. I’d experienced a similar phenomenon earlier in my trip at Chimney Rock in the Cimarron Mountains, and knew that if I used a longer exposure, I’d be able to capture the colorful afterglow that was spreading above the dunes.
Rather than taking even more photos of the lone cottonwood, I drove a few minutes past the entrance to the park to a pullout that I’d made a mental note of earlier in the day on my way to the campground. From this vantage point, the immensity of the dunes took center stage as they towered over the row of cottonwoods at their base. A 30-second exposure captured the rich glow that punctuated the sky and curves of the dunes, as well as sand blowing from some of the dunes, including the largest one.
Well after the sun had set, vibrant color lingered in the sky and illuminated the tallest sand dunes in North America, which tower over the cottonwood trees that are showing off their own vibrant autumn colors at the base of the dunes.
If the aspen forests were the main course of my Colorado autumn adventure, the cottonwoods, mountains, and sweeping 30-square-mile dunefield of Great Sand Dunes National Park combined to form the surprise dessert that not only capped it all off, but also served as a reminder that when on the road, the unexpected beauty that’s encountered is often what stands out most.
PS - For those curious about the timing of fall foliage at Great Sand Dunes National Park, these photos were taken on October 8th, and the cottonwoods certainly seemed to be at peak!