Zapata Falls

Great Sand Dunes National Park, Part One

Informational signs adjacent to the Zapata Falls parking area, letting us know the valley below is the size of the state of New Hampshire.

Zapata Falls isn’t part of the Great Sand Dunes National Park. It’s BLM land just outside of it. But I’d be remiss not to talk about it, because it was part of our experience visiting that we never would have seen had we not gone to GSD. 

Great Sand Dunes was the last item on our Colorado vacation wishlist when we visited in June 2020. We had been hanging out in Buena Vista for several days, and we were ready for the next thing. On the drive south, I was researching our next stop and saw the NPS website recommends sand-sledding under “things to do”, and gave a list of local businesses that rented them.

We knew the dunes would get hot quickly once the sun rose, so if we wanted to get out and ride the sand, we’d need to get there early. Like, 5am early. I’m normally of the mindset that when you’re on vacation, there’s no reason to rush, time is meaningless, and alarms kill the vibe. But my stoke for new experiences easily won over my love for sleep.  

I started making calls and found a shop (SpinDrift) that would allow us to rent a sled for 24 hours instead of just during their open hours, so we could get the early start we’d need to have a good time. Somehow, I let Michael convince me we should get sandboards instead of sand sleds. I guess I thought I’d look cool sand-boarding down the dunes. It was $20 per board for the day, and that $40 activity was the most expensive thing we did on our whole two-week vacation (except for driving, of course). 

I googled free campsites for us to stay at that night, and stumbled upon Zapata Falls, which was owned by the Bureau of Land Management. It sounded too good to be true. Free camping, close to the park, and a waterfall? After securing our rented sandboards, we took off, hoping to get to the campground before dark. 

We turned off the highway onto Zapata Falls Road. There was a “rough road” sign, but it didn’t mention 4wd requirements, so we pushed on. The rough road was no joke. There were rocks the size of a loaf of bread scattered all over the gravelly road. It took us almost 30 minutes to go 3.5 miles up to the campground. As we bounced up and down about halfway up, I started giggling. “There probably won’t even be any campsites available when we get up there and this terrible drive will have been for nothing!”

My premonition came true. As we pulled into the campground, a sign greeted us. “CAMPGROUND FULL”. My heart sank. A man with long dirty blonde hair partially hidden by a black cowboy hat walked up to our vehicle. He had a scraggly beard that matched his face. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest, and he had two pistols holstered on his hips. This guy looked like a total nutcase. But he wanted to talk to us, so I rolled my window down.

Turns out he was the campground host, Waylon. He confirmed they were full, but chatted with us for a few minutes and then asked if we needed water hookups. Michael told him we were self-contained. 

Waylon: “That’s a nice rig.”

Michael: “Thanks.”

Waylon: “Tell you what. You’re a nice dude, and you’re a pretty lady. You can just pull into that parking lot over there and park overnight. The ranger probably won’t come by tonight, but if he does, you just tell him Waylon said it was okay.”

Michael: “No way, thanks, man! That’s fantastic. You just saved our whole evening.”

Waylon came by later to give us two beers as an “apology” for not having a campsite available for us. We didn’t let him walk away without giving him some craft beer of our own.

After dinner, we went to find the falls. This whole place was way up on a mountainside with strong winds, and there was an interpretive sign saying the valley we were overlooking was the size of New Hampshire. It was hard to wrap my mind around. You could see the Great Sand Dunes National Park from there, and it looked tiny. I remember thinking, That’s it? That’s the whole park?

At the base of the mountains on the right, you can see the Sand Dunes.

The hike to Zapata Falls from the parking lot wasn’t far. It required walking up a rocky creek and getting your feet wet. Even in June, the water was frigid. And then you follow the creek into a narrow twisting canyon. Round the bend, and there it is. Beautiful and completely hidden from the outside world. 

Hiking back down to the van, we were greeted by a sunset that lit up the sky like fire. 

A breath-taking sunset that rivaled the rainbow we had been greeted with upon arrival.

To be continued in the next post!