Fallon, Nevada: Sand Mountain: Singing Sand Dune

It is absolutely beautiful and so unexpected. It is really hard on your calves, with the sand giving way at each step. Do wear shoes as the sand is blazing hot.

I like going during the cold months, when it's empty.

Sand Mountain is a huge sand dune east of Fallon, Nevada. It is now a BLM recreation area with a rather steep $20 fee (honor system) for 7 days visit, but who can pass it by without stopping? It is a huge sand dune system topping out at reportedly 400 feet. It is very fine sand, wonderful to walk on early in the morning before it gets too hot. I went there at 1 pm in the middle of August -- the sand was very hot and it took me 30 minutes to climb to the top of one of the lesser peaks. Yes, I took a bottle of water with me even though you think it's just a little jaunt -- the problem is that the jaunt is much bigger than it looks when a cubic foot of sand comes down on top of your feet at every step. ATV's are permitted around the base of it and on marked trails in the vicinity. It has a brick outhouse, but that's it for facilities. On the nearby 4 Mile Flats and 8 Mile Flats people have written their names in black stones along both sides of the highway; hundreds of them. Also nearby is the Sand Station of the Pony Express. This dune has been here for a LONG time!

Sand Mountain is a Singing Sand Dune, about 600 feet high, clearly visible from Highway 50, 20 miles east of Fallon, in a corner between two mountain ranges. When you slide down the mountain, it moans loudly. Singing Sand is very rare. It has to do with the shape of the grains of sand and the way they rub each other. Even on a windy day, if you are close enough you can hear it moaning. Very weird sound.