With Memorial Day marking the unofficial start of summer, a popular seasonal creek in Southern Colorado isn't doing so hot. Medano Creek at Great Sand Dunes National Park is nearly half of where it should be this time of year, according to the National Park Service.
As of Thursday, Medano Creek near the parking lot of the dunes trailhead was less than one inch deep. It's flowing in thin braids that range from 1 to 6 feet wide. Typically, the creek peaks right around Memorial Day through early June, but data from the National Park Service shows this year, the peak likely came and went earlier this month.
Melt from the snowpack in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range creates the seasonal Medano Creek. This snow year has been pretty dry for the range, with snowpack less than a third of average. As a result, the National Park Service forecasts the creek "to be less than a third of average in depth and duration this year" and possibly run dry by mid-June. Low water means mosquito season may start earlier than usual this year, but also that it could be over sooner.
Typically, folks can play, wade, and even skimboard on the creek, and a child can float in a small tube or other inflatable. This year, it's not deep enough for floating and its flow has decreased in recent days, the agency said.
Medano Creek flows yearly at the main parking lot from the end of spring to mid-summer at Great Sand Dunes National Park.
