Travel to West Part IX

One of our unforgettable excursions during a trip to the west was the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in southwestern Utah. The park features uniquely pink-hued sand dunes surrounded by red sandstone cliffs, junipers and pinion pines under a blue sky. The dunes are formed from the erosion of pink-colored Navajo Sandstone surrounding the park.

The state park is an access point for exploring these huge colorful dunes for both off-highway vehicle (OHV) enthusiasts and hikers.  Most of the people come to the park for a ride on an OHV. The Coral Pink Sand Dunes Trail is a 0.8-mile trail for hikers at all skill levels and offers the chance to see wildlife. The best time to visit is in the Spring and Fall months, especially if you want to camp. The Summer is hot, and there’s no shade when you’re out hiking or playing on the dunes. Thunderstorms are also more common in the summer months. The winter months are cold and windy, and the area does get occasional snowstorms.

The dunes are also excellent for sandboarding, and you can bring your own sandboard or rent one on the spot. Be mindful of the sandboarding tips. Keep your feet up and your weight back so that front edge of the board does not catch in the sand or take on too much sand! You can really get up to a really high speed depending on how steep the dune is, so choose wisely and decide what you can handle. Hiking back up the dune in the wonderfully soft but shifting sand is a serious workout!

The Coral Pink Sand Dunes stretch across 3,730 acres (~ 5.83 sq mi) and offer a sci-fi like vista. The winds can rearrange the mounds and hills of sand as much as 50 feet per year.

It is sand but not a dry desert. There is an abundance of rain at the 6,000-foot elevation park, and plant life thrives, even in the shifting sand. The pink sand provides a stunning contrast to the color of the vegetation, which is sparse but colorful and varied.