Very few of us are lucky to enjoy the offbeat adventure. The photo above would have given some hint about what sandboarding is.
It is one of the boardsports in which, you use sand dunes to surf.
Other known boardsports are:
- Wave surfing
- Skurfing
- Wakeboarding
- Snowborading
- Windsurfing
- Kneeboarding
- Sledding
- Standup paddling
- Kitesurfing
- Skinboarding
- Bodyborading
There are some more action sports that are played on other terrains/surfaces. The common accessory in all the boardsports is the board made of different materials.
Sandsurfing as it is also known can be indulged in wherever sand dunes are present. You can find sand dunes of different heights (slopes) in deserts, and beaches.
Sandboarding is rather safe and almost injury-free except some slight scratches on your elbows, and stomach, caused by the sand particles.
However, you have to climb up the steep slope of a sand dune, lugging your sandboard to reach the top of the sand dune from where; you begin your slide down.
To make the sand sliding smoother, the base of the sandboard is waxed.
14 Best Sandboarding Destinations Globally: Thrill-Seeker’s Guide
Let us visit the places in the world where sandsurding is possible.
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Kangaroo Island, Australia
Australia has several islands, of which, three are big. Kangaroo Island is one of the biggest. It is in southern Australia. It is known for rich wildlife and natural beauty.
For sandboarding, a sand dune system called, “Little Sahara” is found on the island. Kangaroo Island is situated 1120 km from Adelaide City, in the southwest direction.
There is a series of sand dunes with ridges in between. The highest one measures 220 feet! It is a good height from where you can slide down, lying flat on your stomach or sitting on the sandboard.
Interestingly, here is another word for sandboarding. Tobaggan also points to sand sledding.
You need not buy a sandboard from your home town. It can be rented from shops in Vivonne Bay that is located in front of the Little Sahara dune system.
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Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado, United States
This is not a very tall sand dune, there are much taller dunes. However, this place seems to be very vast. This implies, there are many more dunes that are good for sandsurfing.
Yes, the record says it comprises a big 600 sq. km area!
As I mentioned above, the video was shot in a small dune because, there is one particular dune that stands as tall as 750 feet!
Oh, a slide on a board from that height might take a little more than a minute!
Reaching Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
The nearest city is Alamosa. Even from Alamosa, the Great Sand Dune is 50 km away,
Alamosa is 220 km south of Denver, the capital of Colorado State.
Near the entrance to this national park, sandboards are available for rent.
The area has abundant wildlife including the black bear, beaver, bison, and porcupine.
Birders can have a field day as there are about 250 bird species. Surely, at least 10 of them can be spotted in an hour!
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Qattania Sand Dune, Egypt
Not only this but there are a few more sand dunes in Egypt. The Great Sahara Desert has a sibling in Egypt and is called Western Desert. The above-mentioned sand dune is in the Western Desert,
Ah, an appropriate name!
This is a classic example of a desert sand dune where the temperature touches 66 Degree Celsius! It is located near Siwa Oasis.
The Western Desert is a big 300 km long! Surprisingly, it is below sea level.
You need to drive for about 2 hours roughly from Cairo to reach Qattania Sand Dune.
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Namib Desert,
As many as 3 African countries are home to the great Namib Desert. The desert can be seen in Angola, Namibia, and South Africa.
It means sandborading is possible at numerous places across the desert’s 2000 km stretch.
Two cities are famous for sandboarding. WalwisBay, and Swakopmund. Both are in Namibia.
Please note a change of name on this boardsport. In Namib Desert, Sand Skiing is played and not sandboarding.
This is an interesting adventure sport and looks exactly similar to skiing on the snow.
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Big Daddy
There is a place called Sossusvlei in Namob Desert. World’s tallest sand dunes are found here.
The height stand at a staggering 1270 feet! Here, the adventure is called, “Dune Skiing”.
The dunes appear in bright orange in color, suggesting the presence of Ferric Oxide in the sand.
Other sandborading sites nearby:
- Dune 45
- Elim Dune
- Big Mama -1065 feet
- Deadvlei
You can see the capital city Cairo and also enjoy half a day, playing dune skiing.
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Stockton Sand Dunes, Australia
This is one of the best places in Australia that is known for sandboarding.
Spreading over 4000 acres, the dunes are near Nelson Bay. The beautiful city of Newcastle is closer to Nelson Bay. 60 km distance separates the two places.
The tallest crest is 130 feet. The total length of the sand dune system here is 32 km. That’s massive!
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Duna Federico Kirbus, Argentina
World’s tallest sand hill isDuna Federico Kirbus. It is not a hill but a mountain!
If only someone can go to the summit of this imposing sand dune, he will see the foot of the mountain 4035 feet below! It is a sky-scrapper, buddy!
I am sure you can hike to small dune hills here and enjoy a full-session sandboarding.
The scene is jaw-dropping! It is the world’s best sandboarding site. Buenos Aires is lying some 1400 km southeast of this big sand mountain.
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Tottori Sand dunes, Japan
Honshu Island is where Tottori city is located. The sand dunes are near this city. It is sitting on the shores of Sea of Japan.
It is a fairly large sand dune running for 14 km! Its breadth is 1.5 km. It means, numerous people can slide on the sand dune at a given time, simultaneously.
The tallest dune is of 150 feet height. The climb up to the top must be strenuous.
The Tottori sand dune is part of San ‘in KaigonGeupark a UNESCO Global Geiopark site.
It is a very picturesque site for sandboarding as the Sea of Japan lies just on the other side of Tottori Sand Dunes. This means, you can choose to slide in this side of the sand dunes that face the Sea of Jpan.
Sand and camel are inseparable. Camel rides are available. Children would love the rare camel ride.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Tottori_sanddunes_camel.jpg
Tottori Sand Dunes have no match in size in other parts of Japan.
Incidentally, the iconic bamboo forest is seen in Kyoto, the gateway city to Tottori Sand Dunes.
The sandboarding spot features a 30-degree slope and will not let you down.
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Lucky Bay, Australia
There is a town called Esperance in the state of Western Australia. Lucky Bay is 62 km southeast of Esperance. It’s in the Indian Ocean.
Lucky Bat is one of the well-visited tourist destinations for its beautiful sand and sand dunes that make sandskiingis possible.
The sandorading site is located 30 km Kalbarri. The place has become quite popular and now, you can find quite a lot of sandboarding tours. These are guided tours and safe for beginners in dune surfing.
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Lancelin Sand Dunes, Australia
Lancelin is a coastal town, located about 120 km north of Perth. It is a coastal city, abutting the Indian, on the west coast of Australia.
Surprisingly, one can witness numerous white sand hills that act as great terrain for sandboarding.
The sand dune system is quite lengthy here and at some places, the sandboarding begins from a height of 100 feet!
The beach is known as a great spot for kitesurfing, another one of the boardsports.
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Sand Master Park, Oregon
This beautiful sandboarding site is located in the city of Florence, Oregon State, the U.S. Fondly addressed as a sandboarding capital, Florence is situated on the Pacific Coast.
The sand dunes stretch up to 65 km long, along the coast. At several places along the stretch, you can find sand dunes rising up to 500 feet!
The long dune system falls within the Oregon Dunes Recreation Area. With such a recognition status, you can easily rent sandboards at the gate of Sand Master Park.
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Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Utah, the U.S.
Though this sandborading site is described as having coral-pink colored sand, I am sure the main constituent is ferric oxide.
It’s a wonderful looking site and looks great for sandsurfung. It is located near Kanab City, in the state of Utah,
Kanab is nearer to Las Vegas (198 km ) than Salt Lake City (312 km) the capital of Utah.
Accessories such as sand board and sand sled are available for rent at the entrance of the park.
The unique color of the sand hills, and the proximity to the sandstone rocks make the state park, a spectacular destination for this extreme sport.
It’s a large area comprising over 2000 acres. Sand sliding is allowed throughout the year.
Some sand hills are 100 feet tall. The state park’s elevation is 6000 feet!
Please note that the breathtaking Antelope Canyon is situated just 15 km from Kanab city.
I watched a short video of the Antelope Canyon. I was simply dumbstruck. Furthermore, I am happy to state the media with you.
It’s a terrific natural wonder!
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White Wash Sand Dunes, Moab, Utah
Moab is not far from Salt Lake City. Sandboarding is possible in the White Wash sand dunes.
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Ica city, Peru
Peru in South America is extremely popular for sand sledding and sandskiing. Here, stand-up sand surfing is also practised.
I did quite a lot of research to compose this blog post on sandboarding, and the sand dunes. I watched numerous videos.
The sand dunes that I saw in Peru are the best. They are really giant.
Look how strenuously the adventure seekers climbed the sand hill.
The panorama is sweeping. It seems you can easily get lost amidst the sea of sand. It is wise to join a guided sand skiing tour in Peru.
The exact place is known as Huacachina. You can slide on the sand from a height of 1600 feet!
From the city of Ica, Huacachina sandsurfing site is just 5 km away. From the country’s capital Lima, Ica is located 300 km south.
If you are scared of sandskiing, ride safely in a sand dune buggy.
Yeah, it looks like a champion rider in the desert, and beach sand.
There is a resort in Huacachina and it is always in high demand.
There are many more sandboarding sites that are located in Central America, the U.K., Europe, and Africa.
