Tourist trap but its the only place to get things without a significant drive if staying at the Great Sand Dunes. SO DON'T FORGET ANYTHING.

Comments about the restaurant only: so-so food no substitutions without additional charges $2.75 for a glass of milk tiny portions They know they're the only act in town and only care about their staff and keeping their workloads light and manageable. Highly recommend cliff bars plus your own drinks - skip this evil isle so wretchedly misnamed and so close to a beautiful setting at Great Sand Dunes. read more

Reasonable prices and a fantastic meal. Juevos Rancheros covered in homemade green and red salsa, perfect home fries, fluffy pancakes. Amazing view of the Sand Dunes and snow covered mountains. This is the place to rent sand sleds and get a hearty breakfast on your way into the National Park. read more

Wow! This place was great- come for the hot roast beef sandwich and stay for the pie! We had Reese's pie, brownie pie and mixed berry pie. The perfect solution to a hungry family after an afternoon of sand boarding! The service was super friendly too read more

Stopped here after spending our morning on the dunes. Didn't want to have to go back into Alamosa and I'm really glad we ate here. The people were very nice and the food was good. I had a burger and fries and my husband had the french dip. Both were very good. I'm surprised there weren't more people eating here. Very nice and clean. read more

Good sandwich & burger place right by the great sanddunes. Recommend the French dip. It was delicious. Service was good and the location is easy! read more

This place is strategically located from the national park and is definitely an oasis for tired souls after a day of hiking. We had burritos and quesadillas. The food was fresh and the service was excellent. Great views on the side..No complaints! read more

Three stars because the coffee wasn't great but the breakfast burrito with green chile sauce is tops and pretty inexpensive.

Great food, very helpful staff, and lots of amenities!! We ate and camped there with no problems! Camping bathrooms had running water and super clean! read more

Good food, AMAZING PIE, like trust me some of the best pie you will ever have. Staff was helpful and friendly in both the gift shop and restaurant. Camp ground shower and bathroom facilities were exceptionally clean, overall convenient and great experience read more

Great service! Sherry was very pleasant with our picky requests. Food was very good, will definitely be back

Awful food. Tons of flies. Crabby waitress. We were desperate for food after sledding on the dunes so we tried it. You couldn't pay me to go eat here again. read more

Between the campsite (finding used condoms and trash) and the lack of shower cleanliness I would have given more stars. But this morning as we grabbed a quick bite at the restaurant before hitting the road, one of the employees made a comment about me being Asian. From afar he walks into the restaurant, which, is connected to the convenience store and says "oh look, it's the Korean". I'm used to being discriminated against, but as an employee that crossed the line. I'm one of the many who help keep the business in operation. Not to mention there are MANY ethnicities that also help to keep that place running. Just because they are the only gig in town doesn't mean they get to treat their guests as they please. Because of this I give them one star. Would have given zero if I could! read more

Save yourself from abuse. Skip renting a sand board here and rent one at Kristi Mountain Sports in Alamosa 719-589-9759. This is a family run store / restaurant campground that has an "I've got the only game in town, if you don't like it leave attitude. My review is for the store, I will never spend a dime at this place based on two separate visits. The first trip we tried to rent a sand board at the Oasis store for a few hours, we were told the rental was $20 for a whole day and they were closing in 30 minutes so we wouldn't be able to return it until the next day. Since we were not spending the night we were out of luck. This trip we stayed overnight to be sure we'd get the chance to try sand boarding. We called them a few hours before arriving to find out how late we could rent a board. The woman who answered the phone said they closed at 8 pm and the cost was $20 for 24 hours. We arrived at 6:30pm, the owners son in law told us we could only have the board until 7:30 pm for $20, if we wanted to keep it until they opened in the morning we'd have to pay $42. We tried to reason with him. We explained we had called ahead and the lady told us we could rent the board for 24 hours for $20. Why was the charge $42? We were leaving in the morning and would be returning the board in less than twenty four hours. He replied "My boss won't let me do that. I don't make the rules." We asked to speak to the manager and the guy flat out refused. When I advised him I would yelp my experiences his reply was "Go ahead, I don't care we don't need your business. We've got people coming all day everyday. Get out of my store.'" During our visit, I met several folks who'd had a similar experience with him that day. We did not stay at their campground. We stayed at Great Sand Dunes Lodge a delightful little property just above the Oasis who haven't lost their appreciation for their guests visit special. read more

My 28th birthday was the 16th of June which also marks the anniversary of my grandmother's death, so I always try to do something special on my birthday in her memory. I decided to visit the sand dunes this year. Stayed at the Oasis lodging and had about the most awful experience imaginable. I had to work on my bday so I decided to go for the following weekend. I NEVER leave bad Yelp reviews. Check my profile. This is my 1st. I booked my lodging over the phone. The guy gave me no details. Just said "Ok you're booked." And hung up the phone. I wanted to get there early as possible because my time was limited. Their website said they opened at 8am so that's when I got there. No one had been in my cabin the night before because they were repairing the roof so I went inside to check in. I had my boyfriend & 2 dogs on the car after a 3 hr drive. They told me check in wasn't until TWO pm. A lady with purple hair said "Well the cleaning lady gets here at 11. I'll have her do your cabin first and you can check in by twelve at the latest but maybe 11:30." I told her thank you & went to the dunes after eating breakfast at their restaurant. After 4 hrs of playing & getting burned in the sun I came back to the lodge to let my dogs rest & have some water & to possibly take a shower myself. The purple haired lady was gone and the guy who had booked me and another woman were behind the counter. This is where all the bad stuff happened. The guy was really rude and just ignored me. I stood at the counter waiting and he finally speaks up "Did you need something?" I advised him I was told my room should be ready for an early check in. He smartly replied "She didn't say it WOULD be ready. She said it MAY be ready." I was kind of shock over his tone. I said as politely as I could that was incorrect. He said "Well the cleaning lady isn't here yet." I told him she was trying to accommodate me because I wasn't told check in was at 2. Then he snapped back at me "Well did you ASK?!" I said "No I didn't think to." He said "Well it's common industry knowledge that check in isn't until AT LEAST 2 with hotels." I advised him this wasn't common knowledge to me and that I've checked in much earlier at other places. He then got even more rude saying "Well I don't know what kind of motels YOU usually go to but it's common knowledge for decent lodging, isn't it?" Getting the other woman involved. She agreed and said "Why don't you go find something to do? Your room won't be ready till 2." Then they both walked off. I stood there waiting and when she finally came back (he had gone outside to fill the ice machine apparently) I asked if I could at least use the shower. She said no, not until I have a pass and I wouldn't get one until check in. It's like they were purposely being mean for fun. Despite all this I continued being nice but was getting to my wits end. This was ruining my birthday and the celebration of my grandmother. The guy came back & explained the room was full of sawdust and chuckled saying "unless you want to sit on sawdust you'll have to wait." I told him I didn't mind because it was hot outside and my dogs were in the car. He said "Well I can't let you in or I'll get chewed out by the owner." The other lady chimed in repeating this concern. As a customer I'm sorry but saying you can't accommodate me Becuse you'll get chewed out while my dogs are burning up in the car is awful. I told him I wasn't trying to be combative but that I'm just concerned. I asked to speak with the owner. The lady said "She's not here." I asked if there was a # I could reach her. She laughed and said "She's on the phone with her sister so it'll be a while." I said "ok well can I still have a # to reach her?" She just repeated the excuse about the sister and refused to provide me a contact #. They both walked off again. In the end I waited till 2 to check in. When I came back for my key at 2 the lady said all smugly "They finished cleaning your room right after you left. It's been ready for an hour and a half" like she was trying to rub it in. She handed me the key and walked off again. Later I got caught up at the entrance because I didn't have a vehicle pass because the people behind the counter were supposed to give me one and didn't tell me. I had to go back to get the pass from her and I honestly believe she did it on purpose. I don't know what in the world is wrong with these 2 people who work there but they nearly ruined the whole experience for me and the LAST thing they need to be doing is customer service. read more

I'm on the tail end of a lovely trip here. I had to work while my daughter attended camp, so some of my advice is about how to make that happen: 1) The Oasis café is attached to a gift shop and they also rent out two rooms in "the duplex". This is an isolated little building about a quarter mile down the highway. Inside: modern hotel conveniences PLUS: microwave, dishwasher, white towels changed and maid cleaned every day. Basically the smallest luxury hotel you'll ever stay at, with the most amazing views ever. 2) The Sand Dunes lodge is on the same property, under different ownership. I didn't stay there, but it looks nice. I was confused before my trip about which place I was staying in. You check in at the lodge by driving up the hill. You check in at the tiny duplex by going to the Oasis café. 3) The GPS is totally wrong. It points at two places: one spot in a town about a 35 minute drive away, and another random location on Highway 150. So here's what you do: aim yourself at the Sand Dunes park, then when you're about a mile south of that on 150, look for the Oasis on your right. You can't miss it. 4) The other reviews about the café food are right. It's very very good. I had the Navajo taco for dinner (left out the chili to make it vegetarian) and a fruit bowl (prepared exquisitely) for breakfast. I have every reason to believe that the rest of the food is just as good. Especially since this is so far from everywhere. 5) There are a few groceries but they are very expensive. I recommend you bring your food in from elsewhere. 6) The oasis café also handles rentals of the campground and camp cabins. You can also rent sandboards here, but get there early as they can run out. 7) There's internet! (sort of). You'll need a wifi hotspot or a tethering plan on your phone. I got 4G about 15 minutes in every hour. But some hours zero bits; some hours the network was up the entire time. This worked at the visitor center, my little Duplex room, and at the Oasis café 8) If you need power and want to hang out at the café, you'll need to sit outside. There are outlets there but none inside. 9) The best place to work is at tables inside the Dunes visitor center. The view is to di read more

My wife and I brought our dog to go camping in a cabin at Great Sand dunes Oasis. We loved it! The views the breathtaking, the bathrooms were close and the food in the restaurant was excellent! Not kidding about the food the french dip was so good I got it twice! Thanks so much! read more

I'm posting this review in regards to the campground, not the diner. I have been here twice, once last year and once this year. Last year was awesome and we all had a great time and so it was decided we would camp here again this year. However, this year was a very different experience. We booked a site that could hold up to 75 people and we had about 40 of us there. We sat around the fire playing cards and talking and laughing which apparently isn't allowed. We were told we were too loud by other campers and the site owners, despite the fact that all we were doing was talking amongst ourselves having a good time. The Oasis was told ahead of time how many of us there would be and yet they thought it was a good idea to put families and individuals next to a group of 30+ people. These individuals were literally ten feet away from us. Poor judgement on the owners part. When you offer group sites that hold that many people then you shouldn't be having families within ten feet of those sites because even if we whispered the whole night they would still be able to hear us with that many people. Group sites should be separated from the individual ones. Needless to say I will not be going back there. As others have said, there is free BLM land down the road which was a much better experience! read more

Oasis is one of the worst restaurants I ever ate at. My "zesty chilly burger" was anything but zesty. The burger and both parts of the bun were floating in light green goo that resembled pond slime more than chilly sauce. The salad on top was just iceberg lettuce with a few random bits of tomato. I ate as much as I could but eventually I had to cover what was left with my napkin as I was getting nauseous. My husband's dinner was no better. Furthermore the service was anything but smiley and the restaurant itself... well don't expect ambiance. The only reason I could give it one star was for the convenience (close to the park entrance) and I did not get food poisoning. (The pie looked OK, but I wasn't in the mood after the main course.) If you are staying at the nearby lodge, heed my advice and PACK YOUR OWN FOOD. We ate frozen entrees the next couple days and enjoyed the view from the lodge table. read more

I've been taking a large group camping here for 20 years and I couldn't imagine anything better especially for the cost. The free showers & restrooms, restaurant, gas pumps and convenience store provide everything you need as a back-up if needed. The proximity to several fantastic one of a kind attractions in the area make it a perfect place to explore and make great memories! They get two thumbs up here! read more

The food was really pretty good, the hospitality and ridiculous rules... not so much. We got there at the bewitching hour it seems... We either needed to rush to order breakfast very quickly before 11am (which we weren't particularly interested in or wait 15 before we would be allowed to even order off the lunch menu... My guess is the kitchen staff are running the show. Strange experience, but the food was decent and the wait for the food after ordered wasn't long. read more

Pay no attention to the bad reviews. The people working here are nice and will help you with anything you need. Camping is great, just outside the Dunes. Bathrooms are nice and there are tables and rocks for fires at every tent site. Check out is 11am but they didn't mind when we were a little late. Sand board rental is convenient and they provide you with wax for the day. Pie and food are also fantastic. Handmade by the resident family grandma, I couldn't ask for better pie! If you want a friendly, cozy atmosphere to relax after a day at the Dunes, look no further! read more

This place is AWESOME... remember you are not in Aspen folks, you are camping!.... This family owned and operated campground (the owner and her son are so friendly and helpful, I really enjoyed hearing about how the campground came to be) 2ish miles outside of the Great Sand Dunes Park offers spectacular views of the dunes, convenience, convenience store, restaurant( breakfast, lunch, dinner and coffee at 8!!!), hot shower house, potable water, garbage bags, garbage drop, RV hook ups, camping cabins, is dog friendly w/o any extra fees :) and group sites just to name a few. I really like this place b/c it is quiet and you can get away from the hustle and bustle inside the park. The sites inside the park require advanced reservation and the first come first serve fill up quick; why stress when your on vaca? Feel free to bring your own wood, and stock your cooler folks Alamosa is around 20 miles away... you are responsible for your vacation!!!!... don't forget the beer and hot dog sticks and have great time!... I look forward to next year already!!! read more