By now it’s no secret that it’s been an extremely dry winter in Colorado this year – and the impacts of that dryness have stretched far and wide. One of those impacts will likely be that a ‘bucket list-worthy’ sight in Colorado fails to come to fruition this spring.

While March and April tend to bring a lot of snow to the state’s Sangre de Cristo mountain range, trends seem to point to that not being the case in 2026. Coupled with already-low snowpack in the area, this will likely mean a significant lack of snowmelt – and a trickle down effect of that could mean that Medano Creek won’t make an appearance, at least not at its typical scale.

The creek that pops up at some point in April at Great Sand Dunes National Park, this flow consists of snowmelt, bringing wind-blown sand that’s escaped into the mountainscape over preceding months back down to replenish the dunes. During the typical year, its water flows through the main visitor center area of the park, hitting its peak around late-May as it creates a sort of ‘beach-like’ scene in the world’s largest alpine valley. As might be expected, tourists flock to witness the scene before it disappears by late-June, pitching beach umbrellas and partaking in activities like skim boarding amid a backdrop that includes massive dunes and 14,000-foot peaks.

To say the park gets crowded during this time is an understatement – parking lots tend to overflow and entry lines can stretch for more than mile – all signs of excited people working a trip to experience Medano Creek into their adventure plans en masse. The month of May can become the most-visited time of the year at the otherwise often-uncrowded park, by far.

Unfortunately, the Medano Creek experience will likely be quite different this year, per the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve geologist. Per a statement from the park, SNOTEL measurements in the Medano Pass area are currently at just 5 percent of what’s typically present in mid-March – conditions similar to 2018, which was one of the driest years on record for the area.

“Based on that, Medano Creek is not expected to reach the dunes parking lot this summer,” wrote public information officer Sierra Willoughby, with the dunes parking lot being a main viewing area for the creek. “It could change if we get some heavy snowfall between now and May. If not, it’s likely that the creek will be dry at the main dunes lot and even up above the Castle Creek Day Use Area on the Medano Pass Primitive Road.”

In other words, tourists hopeful of spotting Medano Creek in its full form should probably start setting their sights on another year. Unless there’s a major shift in weather, don’t expect the iconic view of the creek’s flow cutting through the sandy landscape to be present.

Given that the appearance of Medano Creek is a major draw for many visitors of Great Sand Dunes National Park, conditions this year could presumably end up having a notable impact on overall visitation – which was at its lowest point since 2016 last year. In 2025, a total of 432,498 visitors came to the park, slightly down from 437,661 the year prior. The busiest season ever at Great Sand Dunes was 2021, when 602,613 visitors stopped by.

While the potential impact of Medano Creek’s lack of flow won’t be known until 2026 data comes out a couple months into 2027, when similar conditions were present in 2018, visitation dropped to 442,905 from 486,935 the prior year. A surge of visitors was also seen the next year, in 2019, with visitation jumping to 527,546 – a 19 percent increase of the prior year when extreme dryness was present.

Even in the absence of the creek, Great Sand Dunes National Park still makes for a great visit during spring. Creek or no creek, the area is visually stunning and exciting to explore. A springtime visit means beating the summer heat, making it possible to walk around the dunes amid a more temperate setting – though it’s still hot. Those headed to the dunes this spring should still pack plenty of water and be warned that the sand gets hot as the day goes on – plan for an early visit and consider wearing closed-toe shoes that you don’t mind getting sandy. It’s also good to visit during a day that strong winds aren’t in the forecast.

Stay tuned for updates related to creek flow on the Great Sand Dunes National Park website.

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