Bryce Canyon NP (4) vs. Great Sand Dunes NP (13) Preview

There are many reasons why certain pieces of land become national parks: biological diversity, ecological preservation, historical importance, and monumentalism, etc. My personal favorite is otherworldly nature. Sometimes parks, while not explicitly said in the legislation which establishes them, are created because they are so unique and so unlike anything else in the United States that they are federally protected. There are a handful of parks which truly embody the extraterrestrial essence — Bryce Canyon National Park and Great Sand Dunes National Park are at the top of that list.

I understand that this statement is somewhat controversial given that there is another 4 vs 13 seed matchup today (Death Valley vs Redwood) that pin literally the only two national parks featured in the Star Wars saga against one another, all while I’m arguing that Bryce Canyon versus Great Sand Dunes is the “alien park matchup” or whatever. But it’s true! I hate to pull this card, but I’ve been to all four parks and while Death Valley and Redwood National Park are both breathtaking, there is something so outlandish about Great Sand Dunes and Bryce Canyon that very few parks can get close to rivaling it.

When looking at this comparison, the initial facts tell us very different things. Bryce Canyon fields about 2.7 million visitors every year compared to the Great Sand Dunes mere 450,000. This is possibly explained by Bryce Canyon’s sheer beauty, or more likely its accessibility and proximity to the other great Utah parks. Great Sand Dunes is almost five times larger, but is in a remote part of Colorado and was also established nearly 80 years after Bryce Canyon. Bryce Canyon’s most notable feature is its hoodoos, which are natural columns of rock shaped by extreme weathering overtime. They are beautiful, they are weird, and they are so much fun to get lost in between. The Great Sand Dunes is known best for, well, its massive sand dunes. 30 square miles of them, sitting at a higher elevation than any other sand dunes in North America, they evoke vastness to a new level. When in them you truly feel like you have just been transported into Frank Herbert’s Dune.  

I could write about both of these parks for pages upon pages, but that still wouldn’t do each place justice. If you’re undecided, my recommendation is to google their images, get lost in their beauty, and decide which park moves you more. This is especially hard because in most first round matchups it seems like the higher seed should naturally win — I’d argue that this competition isn’t so simple. We’re very lucky to have a few places in the United States which evoke an aura of extraterrestrial awe, these parks are no exception. I wish you the best of luck in deciding, I know that I’ll need it.

(Picture creds to me!)