Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised, but Utah has some amazing state parks to go along with the stunning national parks within its borders. As you travel along with us, we’ll show you just a few of them that we’ve explored. Coral Pink Sand Dunes is the first we saw of these incredible places.

Why Are the Sand Dunes Pink?

The great thing about this park in addition to the beauty, is that you can walk all over the dunes and see them up close. They’re very different from the dunes at Kelso, California both in how they are formed and in their color. They have an amazing coral color to them owing to the pink/red/coral color of the surrounding cliffs. The quartz sand grains are coated with hematite, an iron oxide that makes the otherwise colorless, or white, sand grains turn a beautiful coral pink color. The Navajo Sandstone cliffs have been eroded over millions of years and in this one particular place the sand has accumulated over the last 10,000 to 15,000 years. Combine the geologic setting with the strong winds that can blow through here, and you have a recipe for stunning beauty.

If you choose to hike the dunes, be aware that they are intensively used by off road vehicles, the one drawback to this area in our opinion. That said, get there at dawn or dusk for the most dramatic lighting and you will not be disappointed!