Escape Dunes is in an open grove of ponderosa pine. Escape dunes are actively moving dunes formed when sand was blown eastward across Medano Creek in dry years, piling up against the foothills. Ghost forests, (places where dunes have smothered or buried pine trees) can be seen in the vicinity.

Ponderosa Pine Trees have a unique history at Great Sand Dunes. Over 100 ponderosa pine trees, historically peeled for food or medicine by American Indian tribes, are "living artifacts" around Great Sand Dunes. This is the only grove of trees now on the National Register of Historic Places. A park ranger is taking in the vanilla fragrance of this ponderosa, which has been dated to be about 500 years old.

Credits and Sources:

“Great Sand Dunes: History and Culture,” National Park Service, http://www.nps.gov/grsa/learn/historyculture/index.htm, Accessed on June 28, 2015.

“Great Sand Dunes National Monument Backcountry Management Plan,” National Park Service, http://wilderness.nps.gov/document/gsdnm.pdf, Accessed on June 28, 2015.