The Killpecker Sand Dunes Is One of The Strangest Places You Can Go in Wyoming
By Tori Jane|Published October 30, 2020
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Tori Jane
Author
Tori Jane is a storm chaser, writer, photographer, and the village idiot - in that order. When she's not out and about dancing with the meanest storms on planet Earth for funsies she can be found wandering, shooting landscapes, writing, editing photos, and otherwise up to no good. Legend has it that she can also be occasionally spotted typing up short bios in the third person, but those rumors are unsubstantiated.
Just a few miles north of Rock Springs, Wyoming, lies a dream world wherein the hills sing. Literally. It’s a strange and beautiful natural wonder known as the Killpecker Sand Dunes, and there, the hills are most certainly alive with the sound of music.
Stretching for miles east of the Green River Basin, these perfect rows of sand have been sculpted by wind for tens of thousands of years.
The individual grains of sand here are rounded and smoother than the average grain; this unique set of circumstances allows the dunes to "boom", or sing, when wind flows over them.
The dunes will also sing if the right explorer comes along and walks atop the ridges, forcing the smoothed sand grains to whistle as they tumble over one another.
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Spanning 55 miles, the pearlescent dunes seem to extend forever, and the beautiful, eerie singing interrupts the otherwise tranquil stillness of the Wyoming Red Desert. It is equal parts beautiful and unsettling.
The Killpecker Sand Dunes are a favorite spot for explorers and sportsmen and everyone in between, attracting folks who are curious about the eerie song of the dunes and ATV enthusiasts alike.
There is no cost to explore the dunes; one can make it a simple day trip, or they can camp in the area if they'd like to. The days are warm and mild in the summer, and during the winter, one can expect dustings of snow.
Long extinct, this volcanic feature known as the Boar's Tusk serves as a beautiful and humbling landmark for explorers in the area. Hikers and sportsmen alike look for this fantastic monument to orient themselves in this vast, bizarre place, where getting lost is easy.
Despite the appearance of being a desert wasteland, these mysterious singing dunes are teeming with life.
Among the wild creatures in the area, one can spot elk, antelope, many species of toad, and even some freshwater fish and shrimp in any of the area's dozens of small, natural ponds. Desert grass is sprinkled at random over the countless miles of dunes, some of which reach up to 15 feet tall.
Amazingly, this incredible natural wonder is the second largest active dune on planet Earth! An "active" dune is a dune that is in a constant state of building and change.
Each day, every day for the last 20,000 years, the winds coursing through the dunes acts to sculpt them, all while whistling that beautiful, haunting tune.
To seek out this strange land for yourself, travel northbound on State Highway 191 from Rock Springs, Wyoming. Turn right on County Road 4-17/Tri-Territory Loop Road and follow it for about 20 miles. Once you come upon the Sand Dunes access road, take it, and follow it for one mile. Hang a right at the intersection you’ll arrive at, and drive just one more mile to the campground. Remember: leave no trace! What you pack in, make sure to pack out so that future generations can appreciate this incredible natural wonderland.
Have you ever heard a sand dune sing? Let us know what it was like in the comments!
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